Nothing, Nothing Tra la la?
by Adrienne Valentine
Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory.
1. Prologue: Heaven Ain't Close

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T for now, the rating may be moved up to M later.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Prolouge:**

_Heaven ain't close in a place like this._

('Somebody Told me' - The Killers)

* * *

"They are getting closer, my lord." The fox-like knight told his King with a bow.

Straightening out and watching for further instructions. There was a harsh tension in the room as the words hung in the air before the King nodded and waved off his knight. Although the Knight had, in a small part betrayed him, he had never harbored any ill will for the creature. After all, chivalry ruled the knight and helping a fair maiden in need was high on the list. He sighed and looked around his study. Few saw the room as it was one of his private chambers. Only those he trusted ever saw it, which was a very rare event indeed. He reached forward and wrapped a leather-clad hand around a crystal glass of wine, in the process of bringing the liquid to his lips when the door was opened without warning, a dark haired woman striding in confidently.

She made no motion to bow, nor did she try to excuse her brash entrance, and he raised a mocking brow at her. She walked toward the desk he sat at, roughly grabbing the glass from his hand and draining it's contents. This seemed to calm her as then she finally chose to acknowledge his presence and poured his glass anew, replacing it in his hand. She then took a heavy seat across from him. If anyone else in his kingdom had done such a thing they would have been sent to either an oubliette or the Bog within moments of their entrance. She had the permission to do such things, however. He continued to look at her with a questioning look and she sighed at the sight, giving in and deciding that he needed to be told.

"They've discovered the weakness." She said simply, sounding somewhere between distraught and annoyed.

He knew instantly what she meant and was worried. The Labyrinth had a weak spot in it's defenses that he had tried to keep hidden since the rumors of war began. It was too vital to even let it slip from his mouth. He had not spoken it, written it or anything to communicate it. The woman had known what it was because she had been there when it had emerged. She looked at him, asking him what he was to do about it, urging him to do something that would indeed help. He knew what it was she wanted him to do, but she also knew that he would not do it. She knew he could not. Another sigh escaped her purple painted lips as she begun to stand angrily, only to be interrupted by a raised hand.

"Then I will need it to be guarded until the time comes." He said, his voice tired.

A pause, and the woman stared at him, her feline like eyes watching him appraising, as if weighing him decisively. She nodded slowly, reaching a pale hand forward to take his in it and squeezing it slightly. He looked over at her kindly, knowing the meaning behind her action and feeling grateful. These were private moments the two shared. When outside of the King's rooms, it was formalities and titles. The woman enjoyed the time alone with him more than anything else. She released his hand and stood up, this time bowing slightly before turning to leave. The King took the moment to speak again.

"I'm trusting you, Elle." He said softly, and the Fae woman nodded before striding out of the study.

* * *

The dark feline sat at the edge of the Labyrinth, watching and waiting. Glancing about on all sides, she saw the approaching 'spies' in the distance, her keen eyes making out their shapes even though they believed they were hidden within the dark of the night. She would have to deal with them if they got to close, kill them and hope that they reacted like ant scouts. She doubted they would, but the hope was still there. There was a sudden uptake of air and the cat's attention was taken now instead to the nearby hill, a tree with a clock hanging off of it. She carefully made out the shape in the dark before stalking over, her form changing in the process to the Fae woman.

"What is your name?" She asked the new arrival calmly.

The boy was looking about himself wildly, both nervous and terrified. He had not been expecting this. Not been expecting her. She maintained her composed stature regardless of his frantic searching. Eventually his eyes landed on her and he was taken aback for a moment. He had surely not been expecting her. She knew his purpose for being there and his reason for being so surprised at the sight of her. He was so confused and slightly angry that for a few moments he could not bring himself to speak. She waited patiently until he finally had composed himself to speak, anger now being the guiding emotion.

"Where is my brother?!" He demanded, "Where am I? Who are you?"

She opened her mouth to answer when she noticed a movement behind him. She frowned and pulled out her blade, darting behind him and toward the motion. For a moment it eluded her, but she soon found the source. A small ugly creature which snarled upon realizing that it had been found and lunged. Not at her, no, the creature lunged at the human boy with a snarl. She moved quickly and lunged at the creature with her blade leading, skewering it on her blade with a growl. She scowled at the disgusting thing and lowering her blade, she planted her foot on the thing's head, crushing it while extracting her blade. With her blade free she returned it to it's sheath and looked at the boy who seemed in awe.

"We will discuss this in safety. Follow me." She told him before leading him off toward the Labyrinth and one of the hidden places within the Labyrinth, knowing he would follow.

* * *

The King found himself in his study once again. This time no one was there to disturb him. He did not regret his choice to send the woman to the borders. She was more than capable of the task he had assigned her. She had the stealth, skill and charisma to deal with the humans wishing away themselves or their siblings and any attempts that might be made on the wisher's life. Siblings or children who were wished away were sent to him and he waited for word from her before he sent them home or waited. If it was a parent, he would wait and have them be sent to him. If it was a sibling, the children were sent home and the wisher had to wait until he had the time, or, more accurately, the power, to return them to their home. It was something he had already had to deal with. Explaining to a human that he could not send them back.

A child was not only small, but willing to accept the magic, not to mention that many of them were too young to even know what magic was. Therefore they made themselves as easy to return as a wave of the hand. An adult or even someone nearing adulthood, however, even if they believe magic on some level, few were willing to accept it with ease, and while under normal circumstances that would not matter, he was weakened and therefore unless they accepted the magic on the same level a small child did, which even fewer did, then they were forced to stay. He regretted having to do so, but he had no other choice. With war approaching he had precious little to waste his magic on. No, he needed to make sure to conserve it so it did not waste him away with it's use. After the war, then he could return them all to their proper place. He was just relieved that few of their kind even believed in magic anymore.

Except for her. His thoughts were drawn painfully to the first human to have not only completed hid Labyrinth in the allotted time, but defeat and, more sobering, deny him. He had offered his heart to the girl of fifteen and he had been denied. He often wondered if it was not because of her age and he blamed himself for his poor judgment on the matter. He had not been expecting her to be so determined to retrieve her brother that she could only be distracted for a short amount of time. He smiled sadly at the memory of the one event that had distracted her. He had danced with her and sung to her. She had looked beautiful, dressed in an elegant gown. The crowd had frightened her, however, and they had reminded her of why she was even there, causing him to lose his hold on the illusion that was her dream.

He sighed wistfully and wished that he had not been so foolish. He should have known better. With a shake of his head he decided that now was not the time for him to dwell. It was far too late for such things. Now he only had one option in regards to the girl who had beat him- for her to arrive. He had given her friends assignments that made it harder and harder to visit her over time. He had received news from the dwarf the other day that she had even asked what was wrong. Intuitive little thing had sensed something was amiss even though they had all been instructed not to tell her of the troubles his lands were having. He had even ordered the dwarf not to visit her so that she could not get an answer from him.

Soon, he knew, she would need to know. Soon, he knew, he would see her once again and perhaps get the chance to not only restore his kingdom, but finally win her over. Then, he would be happy. Truly happy. He needed her to complete him, but he was not going to force her. Another sigh and he stood and made his way out of the room and to his chambers, tired from the day and planning on turning in for the night.

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**A/N: **I'm not going to be giving too many author's notes to tell anything about the plot except maybe some little notes about creatures, fae and other mythological/folklore/magical things that I'm too lazy to have the characters explain.


	2. Chapter 1: Time Does Not Return Again

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T for now, the rating may be moved up to M later.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter One:**

_But Time does not return again__._

('Across the Sky' by Emilie Autumn)

* * *

Sarah stared deeply into the mirror. She had not seen her friends from the Labyrinth in quite some time and she had grown worried. Not even Hoggle, and he had always been the one to come the most often. She worried horribly that something was wrong. She screwed her eyes shut, pushing back tears and trying to think, desperately, of what to do. They were so far away and for once in her life she could not feel them and it terrified her. She could not even feel the gaze of the Goblin King, which scared her the most. She had grown accustome to the feel of him watching her. At first it had been annoying and disconcerting, but she had grown used to it, and it's absence was the most unusual. She thought for a long moment before coming to a decision, standing abruptly and glancing about her room. Seeing nothing she felt the need to take with her, she begun speaking. "I wish the Goblin King would come and take me away!"

For a moment, nothing happened, and, afraid, she wished again, and again, wishing to be returned to the Labyrinth, until, with a sickening lurch and an abrupt dislocation she found herself standing where she had begun so long ago. Except this time the Labyrinth did not look like the majestic and mysterious thing it once did. It looked dangerous and chaotic. She could see smoke and her worry and fear intensified. She didn't know what was going on, but she was going to find out. With a determined state, she stepped forward and approached the wall of the Labyrinth- finding a hole in it's outer wall and approaching it, only to find herself suddenly on the ground, someone on top of her and what looked like arrows flying over the person's head. She frowned and focused on the face of the person above her, realizing it was a girl only moments before the other stood and grabbed her hand and went into the wall, running. She didn't stop and didn't let Sarah stop until they reached what seemed to be a secluded part of the Labyrinth.

"Idiot girl! What are you doing, wandering around so brazenly!" The almost ethereal looking girl half yelled, half whispered at her. "Are you looking to get yourself killed?"

She had the chance now to see the girl more fully and was slightly taken about by her looks. Her hair was a deep pitch black, though it also seemed to shimmer and change. Her eyes were purple with not human, but feline pupils as she watched her expectantly. She wore the dressings of a warrior, but they were also somehow beautiful and exotic, reminding her that she was in a fairy-tale world, swords strapped across her back and daggers at her various points on her body- hips, thighs, even, it seemed, she had some hidden near her wrists. Her face was fierce and soft and beautiful all at once, much like how she remembered the Goblin King.

She felt slightly dizzy for a moment and asked in a half-dazed tone, "Wha... What do you mean?" The girl frowned and then seemed to make a sudden realization, whatever it was making her curse in some foreign tongue. "You're not Fae..." She said resolutely, already knowing the answer, "You're human." The way she spoke made it sound as if she was frustrated and also slightly concerned by the fact. She scowled and looked as if deep in thought for a time before a noise- more of a yell, really- was heard. "I need to get you to a safe place." She said simply, taking her hand once again and fleeing from their spot.

The twists and turns of the Labyrinth confused Sarah, losing any sign of where she was as she was taken away through the maze without the chance to really look where she was going. Eventually, the two of them came to a small clearing which held what looked like the remains of a fairy ring, she could see it, but only barely, the dark circle in the grass and the stray mushrooms were the only indication. The girl pushed her roughly into the ring and she was once again confronted with the lurching sensation, although it was no longer a sickening feeling. She found herself in a small, candle lit room. An oubliette was what came to mind until she noticed the furnishings and how large it seemed. The girl appeared loudly behind her moments later and motioned for her to sit in the small looking chairs. She was surprised when the chair, which had looked like it would be incredibly uncomfortable, was quite the opposite, as if growing to accommodate her size. The Fae woman still had a scowl on her face, more thoughtful and worried than angry.

A small dwarf, much like Hoggle had been, but older and a woman, shuffled into the sitting room with a smile, eyes closed. "It's so wonderful that you've come to see me, Maelle! With all your fighting and sneaking around, I have been so worried that something had happened to you." She begun, having not noticed Sarah, that is, until she opened her eyes and jumped a little, taking sight of her, "Now I see why! You've brought me another human!" She said with a chuckle and she had to worry what the old dwarf meant. She didn't and hadn't seen any other humans at all, both since she had entered the Labyrinth and since she had entered this... house. She looked slightly worried as she glanced around. She had not heard of dwarves killing or eating humans, but this was not the Labyrinth she had left five years ago. She knew without a doubt that things were different here. She did not know if the creatures had become evil or had started hating her kind, so she worried.

The black haired woman, known, apparently, as 'Maelle', took note of her almost panicked behaviour and sighed before turning her attention back to the Dwarf who had just entered the room. "Yes, Ghillie, I found her at the beginning, foolish girl must have wished her sibling away or something of the sort." She said in both a pitying and patronizing tone, "Would be dead if I hadn't been there. I've begun to see why he wanted me to patrol the area and keep an eye out for her kind." She shook her head slightly, as if what she did was frustrating and tiring, but she fully understood it's importance. Ghillie turned toward Sarah and addressed her.

"Is that what happened, dear? Did you wish your sibling away?" She asked in a motherly, doting tone. Sarah merely shook her head. "So you wished yourself away then?"

She nodded, but didn't quite understand why the dwarf didn't assume at all that she had been wished away by someone else. The taller of the two was standing and at the stew pot that she had not noticed before, tasting it and frowning slightly. The older woman ignored her and grabbed a plate of what looked to be cookies and set them on the table. Maelle grabbed two bowls from the nearby cupboard and filled them both up with the stew, also setting it down in front of the confused girl. She looked at her expectantly for a moment as she ate nothing before shrugging and taking one of the cookies off of the plate and dipping it into the stew before taking a bite. Once she had finished her bite she noticed that her companion had not and frowned once again. "Are you going to eat then?" She asked, sounded almost insulted that she wasn't, "It's not a fancy aboveground meal, but it's food, so it would be best to eat up."

Sarah nodded a bit absently and begun to eat what had been placed before her, listening to the conversation of the two other women. The conversation of the two was quite confusing, from what she could gather, there was a war in progress in the Underground and they were not winning very quickly. In fact, they were barely surviving and keeping their claim on the Labyrinth at all. She wondered how such a thing would happen and who would attack the Labyrinth. She had always seen the Goblin king as strong and had thought him very capable to fend off an attack. True, she had not even known that there had been more to the Underground than the Goblin King's Domain, but she would never have believed that anyone would attack it.

Finishing her stew, she decided that she needed to ask a question about the whole thing, just to clear things up. "Why is the Labyrinth at war?" She asked curious and more than a little worried. Her words got both their attention and they looked at each other as if debating on who would tell her before the now black haired woman spoke. "Well, the short version of it is that a human girl, such as yourself, came, beat the Labyrinth and well, she weakened the Goblin King because she had denied him." Maelle looked somewhat bitter at what she said and she wondered if this woman had feelings for the Goblin King, but realized that it might also be because of what the actions of the girl- her actions- had done. It made her feel guilty as well. She had not understood at the time what his words had meant and therefore had denied him, believing that he was a villain and would actually turn her baby brother into a goblin. She had not wanted to do any of this. She opened her mouth to speak when another figure entered the room they were in.

"What's this? Dinner **_and_** Mae and you didn't tell me Ghills?" The voice that spoke was a young man, human by the look of him. In his early twenties. His dark brown hair reached a little past his shoulder and his bright blue eyes shone with intelligence and humour. He was teasing the dwarf, and she actually looked slightly embarrassed, mumbling something about concern and another child and a few other things, which the boy just laughed about. He walked over to the fae, who had remained seated when he had entered, and put his arms around her in a slightly more than friendly embrace. Mae seemed both comfortable and tense with the gesture, hugging him back slightly. He turned his attention away from the fae, releasing her, and to Sarah, smiling. "Hey there, I'm Geoff, what's your name?"

The question had been innocent enough, but she had already begun to wonder how to answer that question. She felt uncomfortable and slightly afraid to let the fae woman know that she was the one who had apparently done whatever it was she had done to the Labyrinth. She didn't want the almost frightening woman to be angry with her. So she lied. She knew she would probably regret it later and would probably end up either be found out or telling the truth later, but she wanted to know what was going on and help, and she was afriad that she wouldn't be able to do so if they knew who she really was. So she used her mother's name, something she had done before under different circumstances, but would be the easiest for her to remember. "Me? I'm Linda."

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**A/N: **Reviews are loved! Updates will be weekly, posted early on Friday, even if I write 5 chapters in one week.


	3. Chapter 2: I held thee captive

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T for now, the rating may be moved up to M later.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Two:**

_I held thee captive as I did ere now _

(Alas, The Knight by Emilie Autumn)

* * *

"Linda, Come here." The dark haired fae woman called to the human girl.

For a moment Sarah, or 'Linda', didn't respond, not fully paying attention and neither was she used to responding to her mother's name, but after a moment she realized that she _was _being talked to and looked at the other woman, who was looking at her slightly amused. Sarah suspected that the other girl had some idea that she had not been entirely honest about her name, but she hadn't said anything about it. With a shrug of her shoulders she moved over to where the other girl and the human boy were standing, both with weapons in their hands. They had explained to her that if she wished to return home she'd have to learn to fight. This had surprised her at first, but with the news of the war that was occurring she wasn't entirely too surprised. Geoff, she had found out, had already been training, but han't begun when he arrived. Apparently he had been unwilling to learn for the first few months he had been there. He, she had also come to realize, he been there for nearly a year.

So when she approached she was handed a light sword. She held it awkwardly, never having held a real sword before. Mae, who had handed her the sword, reached out and adjusted her grip so that she was holding it properly. It had been the morning after she had arrived that she had been told that she was going to be learning, and the fae woman was, apparently, not taking no for an answer. She had a job to do and she couldn't leave the border herself to take them to the castle to seek their freedom an their return to the Aboveground. From what she had been told, the other woman was safe, as she was a resident of the area and could handle what enemies had slipped into the Labyrinth, but they, being humans, would be facing both the inhabitants and the enemies of the Labyrinth. She had also learned that the Labyrinth was changing more often and more chaoticly. While it had been, before the war, changing at a predictable (to the inhabitants, at least) rate, now it was in defense mode, it changed for no reason, often times dramaticly, changing the entire landscape. This had made her wonder if they would be able to get through at all, but Maelle had assured her that she would teach them some of the Labyrinth's patterns so that it would be easier. After all, apparently the Labyrinth had never been impossible to get through.

The only reason it was so difficult for humans was due to how they thought. They didn't take into account magic or that things could change within seconds. Fae, even unfamilar ones, could solve it within the time given (if, of course, they chose to). So she had told her that she was to teach them not only to fight the creatures that might be in the Labyrinth, but to think in such a way that the Labyrinth was no longer as confusing. Of course, while these laws of the Labyrinth's movement applied when the Labyrinth was calm and allowed navigation within a day, it's defensive chaos made it more difficult, which meant that while under normal circumstances they could navigate it in under a day, now, however, it could take anywhere from two days to two months. With a sigh, she was brought to the present, the fae staring at her expentatly, sword raised in a defensive stance before she spoke (once again, it seemed by the look on her face).

"Try to hit me, Linda." She said, before teasingly, "And try to pay attention."

She nodded and lunged forward with the sword oddly, the more experienced fighter easily blocking the attack before stepping back and resuming her defensive stance, motioning for her to attack again. She did, trying another approach, coming in a bit lower and aiming away from the side that was holding the sword. Again she was blocked and again she was told to attack again. This pattern went on for some time, and she was barely improving, having gotten blocked every time. The only time she had gotten even close her blade had been blocked a few moments away from actually hitting her target. Of course, she hadn't expected to be good at sword fighting in the least, neither had either of the others. So after her turn she sat back on the grass (not entirely sure where she was within the Labyrinth, except that they were surrounded by walls on all sides) and watched Geoff practice. He was much better than her, but it was obvious that he was still no where near the skill of the fae. Again, no surprise as the woman had apparently been learning to fight since she was young and she was much older than them.

After a few hours of the two of them taking turns and instructions, sometimes ambiguous, sometimes specific, from Mae, they turned in at about what was dinner time and retired to the dwarven woman's, Ghillie's, hidden house, food already ready for them. They ate slowly, except Mae, who finished her food quickly before disappearing, supposedly off to do her 'duty'. No one had explained what her duty was, even though she had asked. The answer had been vague, only saying she was patrolling the entrance. That had been as specific as she had gotten. Ghillie and Geoff had looked worried when she had left, but neither had said anything. Now the three of them were eating in silence, not talking about anything. She sighed as she finished her dinner, a beef stew style meal with dumplings. She doubted that the meat really was beef, but she didn't want to ask at all.

The rest of the night passed almost silently. Sarah had stayed awake late, unable to sleep, worrying about the Labyrinth and her friends. Even, as much as she was surprised to admit it, it's king, Jareth. She had never expected herself to worry about Jareth, but there she was, worrying about him, even more than her own friends. She explained it away as feeling **guilty** about the state of his kingdom, but her heart knew better. She tossed and turned for most of the night until she heard voices. Those of the fae and the dwarf discussing something. She missed a good part of it as their voices didn't stay at the same level, changing volume from whispers to near-yells. All she could gather from their conversation was that things were getting worse and that, despite her duty, she would have to return to the castle soon to report what she had seen. She hadn't heard much after that as she had fallen asleep, plagued with worry and concern.

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**A/N: **Reviews are loved! Sorry, this is a more boring chapter as it's more of a transition chapter than the others. There will be a few of these. I'll try to keep them interesting.


	4. Chapter 3: What I choose

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T for now, the rating may be moved up to M later.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

Author's Note: This is meant to be a longer story. To give you some idea, the war is meant to be resolved in this. However, I may split it in two parts if my wonderful readers like the sound of it. One for Sarah until she meets Jareth again (and some after), and the other being the end of the war.

* * *

**Chapter Three:**

_What I choose is my choice_

(Disarm, Smashing Pumpkins)

* * *

It was an early, relatively uneventful morning for Sarah. She hadn't even meant to wake up early, but she simply had, not feeling an ounce of tiredness. She had wandered into the small kitchen, thinking to make herself breakfast, only to find that everyone else was already awake. Apparently Mae was going on a longer 'perimeter' check than usual. There had been rumors that the 'human's entrance', as it was called, had been permanently closed, which apparently meant that 'the girl', herself, had come to the Labyrinth. She was going out to try to find her. She had wanted to tell her that she was the girl that she was looking for, but had spent so much time worrying what the woman might do to her or how it might change their budding friendship and whether she would be 'punished' in anyway, that by the time that she had finally opened her mouth to tell the other girl who she was that she had already left. She had been cursing herself the rest of the morning. She had already been there a fair amount of time, although she wasn't quite sure exactly how long, she assumed about two months by Labyrinth time, which was very different from aboveground time, she knew that much.

She was sitting on the grass where the three of them usually practiced, having grown used to entering and exiting the dwarven woman's home, mostly thinking to herself about what she was going to do. She wanted, desperately, to help save the Labyrinth and thereby her friends, but she didn't even know if they were still alive! For all she knew they were all dead. Despite that, she also felt guilty, especially after Maelle repeatedly blamed her (technically 'the girl' as she wasn't aware of her identity) for not only the state of the Labyrinth, but also the death count and the entire war! She hadn't known, of course, that in denying the Goblin King, she would be undoing the magic of the place. She hadn't even thought that she was the first one to actually beat the Labyrinth or that he had actually cared for her. She knew now that she was a fool. Pulling her knees to her chest, she stared at the wall for a long time, as if willing it's King to appear before her so that she could speak with him. She wanted to apologize and tell him that she would do anything to help him end the war.

She wondered if he had punished her friends for helping her, worried that they had been sent on dangerous missions in the war because he had been so angry with them. She especially wondered why it had taken so long for the war to affect her in her own world. After all, it had been five years and none of her friends had given her any real indication that anything was amiss, but Maelle spoke of the war as if it had erupted as soon as she had left. She'd have to ask about that when she got a real chance to. Perhaps not to the fae, but Ghillie, as she seemed kinder, and even had a softer view on the situation.She even debated telling the dwarven woman the truth, as she truly believed that she would not be mad at her for what she did or for lying about who she was. She even wondered if the old woman knew who she really was, as she often glanced over in her direction when she and the fae spoke of anything that concerned her.

A shake of her head dispelled the thought. Whether the woman really did know, was suspicious or merely was especially kind to her and gave her such looks because she was 'new' to the Underground, she wouldn't know unless she asked and until she did so, wondering about it wouldn't do anything. She sighed and laid down her head onto the grass, leaving her feet planted on the ground and her knees pointed skyward. She was trying to clear her mind of everything she had been worrying about and thinking of what she should actually do in the situation, closing her eyes against the sunlight when she ended up falling asleep. She dreamt of the Goblin King in his castle, pacing his what she supposed was his study, looking extremely worried. A goblin arrived and delivered a message to her that, while she heard the creature speak and knew it was speaking in a language she knew, she couldn't understand. The King then sighed sadly dismissed the goblin, sitting heavily at his desk, his hands cradling his head. She felt pity for him and her dreamself moved towards him, reaching out to touch him to try and tell him that she was there, softly saying his name. When she did so, however, she was surprised by the reaction. Immediately his head jerked up and he looked straight at her and in the most heart-wrenching tone of voice, said her name, as if pleading her. "Sarah."

Her dreamself opened her mouth to say something more to him when she found herself being awoken by Geoff. The man was standing above her, smiling, having shaken her awake with his foot. She groggily sat up and looked around, noticing that it seemed to be nearing the end of the day, wondering why she hadn't been woken by lunch and slightly frightened by how real her dream had seemed. She looked at him blearily and he only laughed, extending his hand to help her up, amused by the glare she was giving him. He didn't even seem to be bothered at all by anything she did. She had come to realize that the other human was relatively carefree, despite that he was trapped in the Underground. His younger sibling that he had wished away had, it seemed, been sent back aboveground. Something that seemed to be much easier performed on a child than a full grown person. She always suspected though that her stayed at Ghillie's small little subterranean cottage not because he couldn't stay anywhere else, but because he was fond of Maelle.

She never quite felt the need to ask as it was so apparent to her. Simply the way he looked at her showed it. It was somewhat sad, however, as it was also quite obvious that she did not return the feeling. She seemed particularly kind to him, but she also seemed to look pained when she looked at him, as if she could not give him what he wanted and she felt guilty for it. They were dear friends, she could tell, and she wondered what held the fae from even acknowledging that she saw his feelings. She could easily let him down, but she never seemed to, despite her cold and aloof demeanor. Often times she believed that it wasn't really a matter of not caring for him in any way, but that either the war or previous obligations held her back. Perhaps she even believed that he would leave her once the war ended. Of course, this was all speculation on her part, and most of it was fueled by her imagination and romanticism.

"Did I miss lunch?" She asked him, already suspecting that his answer would be a 'yes'. He chuckled and shook his head and she was surprised.

"No, it's just getting dark." He shrugged, "A storm is probably coming. It happens."

She glanced up at the sky, realizing that it looked more like storm clouds than a night sky. Of course, they didn't quite look like the storm clouds _she_ was used to. They almost seemed sinister, sparks seemingly igniting within their depths much like lightening, but not the usual colour. The arcs and flashes were of all colours. Red, purple, green and every other colour she could imagine seemed to shine within the clouds. She watched as one of the 'lightening' bolts arced violently in bright, blood red, hitting the ground near where she believed was the edge of the Labyrinth. She frowned, worried about Mae and noticed that Geoff too had stopped and also looked very worried. A few moments passed with them standing there before they stepped into the faded fairy ring that would take them back into Ghillie's home.

* * *

**A/N: **Reviews are loved! So this chapter ended up being more of a foreshadow than intended. Some of them are obvious, some aren't, and some aren't quite what you think, so don't take them for granted. The action will be picking up soon, and the Romance isn't too terribly far off... I've been listening to too many love songs to put it off too much longer... Though, I did want to ask now how many of you lovely reviewers would be interested in a rating increase? I still am unsure of whether I want to keep it T or move it up to M. The only M things would really be violence and_ maybe_ a few smutty scenes.


	5. Chapter 4: I would not be scared

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T for now, the rating may be moved up to M later.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

Author's Note: This is meant to be a longer story. To give you some idea, the war is meant to be resolved in this. However, I may split it in two parts if my wonderful readers like the sound of it. One for Sarah until she meets Jareth again (and some after), and the other being the end of the war.

* * *

**Chapter Four:**

_I wish I wasn't flesh and blood  
I would not be scared_

(Metal Heart, Garbage)

* * *

It was a few days before Maelle returned. When she appeared in the dwarves home and limped to the nearby table, she looked very badly beat up and quite tired. The most surprising thing about her entrance was how worried she looked. Sarah had never seen her look worried at all. She always looked calm and in complete control. Today was different, and she knew it. Something had to be wrong, she couldn't believe that it was anything else. Geoff was not, she could tell, paying attention so much to her expression, but was actually paying attention to the state she was in. He was trying to tend to her wounds, but she shooed him off quickly, seemingly not wanting to be touched. She looked rather irritated as well as worried. They sat in silence for some time, the only noise coming from Ghillie's nervous shuffling as begun cooking a large meal. None of them wanted to say anything as they were all more fearful of the situation than they had before. The finished meal was served sometme before Mae decided to say anything, having cleared her plate and leaning back, not relaxed, merely tired.

"We have to leave for the City." She said simply.

Sarah opened her mouth as if to protest, but shut it quickly when she was shot a look by the fae. There was more silence between them for quite some time. Sarah kept her silence for fear. She wanted to go to the Goblin City, see if she could find her friends, or any information about them, like where they were or what happened to them. However, she also didn't want to have to face Jareth or even, really, be recognized at all. She had lied to Mae, had continued to lie to the fae out of worry and some fear, and the idea of her finding out that she had lied was not a pleasant one. She imagined that she was not the most forgiving type, and knew she was the violent type. Despite her beauty, the fae was littered with scars and carried many blades, wearing a sour expression more often than not. She knew that she could probably blame it on the war, but something told her that the war only brought out what was already there. Her attention was once again taken when Geoff finally decided to speak.

"When are we leaving?" He asked.

He was trying to sound cheerful, as if they were going to the city for a festival or something, but it was easy to tell that he was frightened as well. Both humans were staring at her intently, waiting for an answer. She raised an eyebrow at their looks. She paused for a moment before sighing heavily, leaning forward and placing her hands on the table before standing up, looking between the two of them once again.

"As soon as I finish healing." She answered simply, before adding to her statement, "I want you two to be training in that time. Stop only for sleep and food."

With that, she turned abruptly and into her room, where she lied down to sleep and heal. Geoff and Sarah looked at each other for a long time, worried more than they would admit. Unlike the other inhabitants of the small home, they were human. They didn't really know much about the Labyrinth, or even the Underground in general, aside from what they knew from being there. They didn't know how to fight very well, nor could they use magic. When up against the invaders and even the inhabitants of the Labyrinth, they had little chance. Their instructions from the fae warrior they were beginning to agree with.

"What is going on out there?" Sarah asked finally, to both Geoff and Ghillie.

Both of them looked at her, not quite knowing how to answer. Geoff knew little about what was going on outside of them aside from what he was told. Ghillie knew more, but often never spoke of it, even when Mae tried to begin a conversation about it. The old dwarf looked sad more than anything else, when she decided to speak.

"The war is getting worse," She paused, "The girl appeared, but no one has seen her, she is suspected to be captured by the enemy."

"Which is bad news for everyone here." Geoff added in, "If the enemy does have her, then they can use her to simply destroy the entire kingdom."

She was taken aback by their words. She had never suspected that she would be such a vital part to the entire war that was going on. She had always thought that the war had started because they thought Jareth weak since she had finished the Labyrinth. Now she was beginning to see that what she had done had not only affected the Goblin King's reputation, but the actual magic of the place had connected her to it. She had simply wished her brother away, frustrated with his crying and moreso her step-mother, and now that she had succeeded, it seemed that the place would not let her leave it without consequences. She wanted to know why. Surely someone else must have defeated the Labyrinth, she couldn't be the only one in the history of the Underground to have solved the puzle. She didn't want to ask, but she was deteremined to find out. Eventually.

* * *

A/N: Another week for you lovely readers to tell me whether to keep it T or go up to M. I'm leaning towards T myself right now. Anyways, so the next chapter will be the beginning of the action and, possibly, longer chapters. It's either longer chapters or more chapters. Haven't decided yet. Reviews are loved and thanks for everyone who has replied so far! You guys are why the story continues to update!


	6. Chapter 5: When I close my eyes

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Five:**

_And when I close my eyes it's you I see  
You're everything I know _

(Everywhere, Michelle Branch)

* * *

It had been two weeks before Maelle healed from her wounds. Ghillie had hurried around her cozy little home preparing meal rations for their trip. Geoff and Sarah, as instructed, had spent nearly all of their time training. Both humans were hardly used to the amount of time they were spending and they hadn't liked it. Tired of their complaints, Maelle had come up after the first week and beat them both quite soundly, despite that she was still recovering from her wounds and working at what she said was only half capacity. That had been enough to get them to take it seriously. After all, if something had injured _her_ with the training she had, if they didn't take it seriously they wouldn't last very long. So they trained according to the fae's instructions, looking for openings to aim for while still protecting themselves in the process. It was on one of those busy days, just as the two weeks was ending that they descended into the actual home, quite worn out, to find Mae sitting at the table alone writing a letter with a short little goblin next to her, seeming to wait. It waved at them as they came into view, an unusually friendly gesture, before turning it's attention back to Mae as she handed it the finished letter. "Deliver that to Jareth." She told it curtly, to which it nodded and scampered off to the magic 'door' of the home.

Her attention then turned to the two humans who had moved to sit at the table, anxiously waiting for food. What they had realized from training often is that they found themselves hungrier when it came time to eat. Neither of them were accomplished swordsmen as of yet, as none even could be in such a short time, but they had improved a great deal. Especially considering neither had really had a need to actually fight before hand. So endless training brought on their hunger and they had grown used to it. Today, however, Ghillie wasn't even in sight, nor was the food for dinner, making them wonder why. It wasn't for some time that anyone spoke.

"I asked Ghillie to hold off on supper for a bit." Mae spoke, looking between the two. "We're leaving tomorrow morning, we'll be taking the safest path, but it's going to take some time, especially with the state the Labyrinth is in."

The two humans looked at each other uncertainly, not knowing what to say about the matter. Neither of them were really anxious to leave, much less to fight anything that they might come across. Especially considering that they didn't exactly _know_ what they might be facing. They had been told nothing about who the attackers were or how strong they might be, or even how far in they might be. There nervous shifting was the only indication of their discomfort. Staying there, even training, was comfortable and safe. Now they knew that the very next day they would be heading out into the now violent landscape. The fae sitting with them seemed unconcerned, even as Ghillie entered and started preparing their meal, even standing up to help her. One last glance was exchanged before they were served and ate their meal slowly.

Tired from the day, they turned in quickly after their meal. Sarah was the only one who had any trouble sleeping that night. She tossed and turned, worrying herself about the days ahead, not knowing how long their journey would take nor knowing how the Goblin King would react to her presence. The dream she had had some days ago still played in her mind and she had had more than a few of them since. All so real that she awoke not knowing where she was. In such dreams, she often simply watched him go about his business. He rarely even seemed to notice her, much less speak to her. Occasionally he simply stared at her in a way that made her feel both seen and seen through at the same time. When she finally found sleep, she had not suspected that night would hold another of her dreams.

As soon as her eyes closed she opened them to find herself in Jareth's personal chambers just as a little goblin entered the room. She recognized the creature as the same one that had been charged with delivering a message from Mae. Jareth barely even thanked it with a simple nod before it scurried off. Once he seemed to finish the letter, he glanced up and seemed surprised to see her. This time she knew that he saw her as he not only looked surprised, but had stood and was beginning to make his way to her. In seconds, he stood barely a foot in front of her, looking at her intently. He even looked somewhat pained to be faced with her. His hand moved slowly and she noticed every moment of it until it approached her face. Not even an inch from her face, he paused, as if not knowing when she would fade away. She wondered the same thing when he finally chose to move, his hand lightly touching her cheek. Both of them froze at the touch, unsure of what to do next as neither had expected such a thing to actually happen.

"Sarah." He whispered, her voice so low that she had barely heard him.

She reached her own hand out to touch him, believing the experience was nothing more than a dream of her own volition. After all, they had come the first time when she had been thinking of him, so the idea was not odd. So any fear or shyness she might feel if she was meeting him face to face was lessened. Indeed, she barely even felt her inhibitions right then, so when he begun leaning towards her she found herself leaning forward as well. Briefly she felt his lips pressed against her own before she felt herself fading slightly. A noise of protest escaped her lips as they both pulled back slightly. She looked at him as if he could keep her there, but he too seemed at a loss.

"I'm sorry..." She said quietly as she faded nearly gone, remembering what she was doing the next day and why it was all happening.

This time when Sarah opened her eyes she found herself in 'her' room in Ghillie's house, knocking coming from the door. She shook her head slightly, trying to clear the odd feeling she had as she stood and begun to get ready. Her bag- something the old dwarven woman had given her when Mae had announced they would be leaving- filling quickly as she had few clothes (also given to her by the old dwarf, these were handmade, however). Only one outfit was really her own, and she packed it quickly on the top of what else she had, pausing as she held the white peasant top, much like the one she had worn when she had first entered the Labyrinth. There was another knock at her door and she shoved the shirt into her bag before opening the door to find Maelle on the other side. She smiled slightly at the other girl before pausing, reaching her hand forward and touching her cheek where Jareth had touched in her dreams, frowning. When she pulled her hand away a light dust could easily be seen on her fingers as she rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger, frowning.

"Someone is trying to get to you." She said before turning around and leading the other girl off into the kitchen, not bothering to further explain herself, leaving Sarah to raise a hand to her cheek, pulling off the rest of the dust from her cheek, looking at it herself for a moment before walking to the kitchen. She took a seat to find that breakfast had already been served and Geoff was halfway through his meal and the Fae and the Dwarf seemed finished. She took the empty seat and begun her meal, ignoring the curious look that Mae was continuing to give her. She finished her food quickly, her stomach not quite settled after what the other girl had told her. She wondered if perhaps there was more to her dreams than what she had originally believed. That worried her.

It was a few moments before everyone was finished and the fae stood, grabbing her own bag and the two extra swords that had been leaning against the table as well as a crossbow. She strapped the crossbow to her bag before putting it on her back and handing the two swords to the humans, attached to two waist belt scabbard. Geoff quickly attached the sword belt to his waist, Sarah was slower to do so, unsure of how exactly to put it on. She never really wore belts too often, and with the addition of the sword scabbard, and her mind off thinking of other things, she was a bit confused. The fae sighed and walked over, placing the belt around the other girl's waist and tightened it.

"Stop worrying. I can't keep an eye on you at all times while we're out there." She said sternly, as if patronizing a child.

It was half an hour before the three of them were above ground and in the Labyrinth, far away from where Ghillie's home was. The dwarf was going to 'lock' her home once they left, meaning that they couldn't get back there even if they wanted to. Sarah was still nervous, but by now the other two seemed to be entirely calm, the fae more so than the other human. They had yet to run into anything, friendly or otherwise, but they were not going to keep with that record for much longer as they begun to hear scuffling nearby. The sound was almost surronding them, coming from all sides, little murmurs and the sound of feet trying to be silent. None of them could tell if whatever was making the noises was friendly or hostile, but Mae seemed on edge.

After only a few yards they were suddenly assaulted on all sides, surrounded by small goblin creatures who carried various improvised weapons, shouting strange profanities and trying to threaten the three of them. While Geoff and Sarah had been stalled by their surprised at the sudden attack, Mae had pulled out the blades that were hidden under her sleeves, holding them at ready. Two things happened at the same time, the two humans pulled out their own blades as the goblins seemed to notice who was leading them. They lowered their weapons and looked as if they were trying to stand at attention. Some of them were actually succeeding, but most of them seemed to be failing, too distracted by the others being too close and elbowing them to try to get them to scoot over. Nevertheless, they all seemed to respect the fae woman, enough for goblins at least. The woman replaced her blades and nodded her head at the goblins.

"Miss! Miss! We are glad to see you!" One of the ones who had actually managed to stand at attention spoke up.

"Why is you having humans here?" Another one asked, this one dressed with a skull looking helmet on it's head, although it seemed to be barely staying in place.

"We're going to the city." Mae said curtly, before asking, "How is the area around here?"

"Uh... Area is uneventful. Little enemy activity." The largest one, that looked to be a leader, said, speaking the clearest out of them all.

Maelle nodded at the report from the goblins and with a wave of her hand dismissed them. They marched past the group in a mostly orderly manner, squabbling over one thing or another. Geoff glanced between the goblins and Mae before chuckling slightly, sheathing his sword. Mae shot him a look, smiling a little herself, then at Sarah, who had stalled in sheathing her own sword. The girl also chuckled, a bit more nervously than the boy, who chuckled once again at her nervousness. He walked up to the fae with an eyebrow raised and leaned forward, whispering something into her ear, to which she chuckled about as well, shaking her head. "I don't think so, Geoff." She said calmly, still chuckling slightly as she begun moving forward once again. The human girl felt left out, but said nothing, following after a moment.

* * *

A/N: Alright, so it's going to stay T then. Alright, this chapter is slightly longer, but the rest definitely will be! Reviews are loved as always. The 'dust' and what Geoff said will be explained in the next chapter.


	7. Chapter 6: If it takes me all night

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Six:**

_I'm coming to find you if it takes me all night_

(A Night Like This by The Cure)

* * *

Days were longer in the Underground and Sarah had never felt it so much as she had that day. When she had run the Labyrinth the first time, she had had a goal driving her, and, she now believed, help from Jareth himself, but the constant marching and the stress of her worry had taken it's toll. Maelle, who seemed to be quite used to such marches, was the only one who wasn't really tired when they stopped to set up camp. This made the girl wonder why it was that the dark haired fae was like she was. She understood it was war, but from what she knew, fae were often flighty and irresponsible, even in the best of circumstances. Mae, however, was different. She was almost always serious and sometimes even sad. She seemed even vastly different from the Goblin King she had known, who spoke quite poetically at times, was easily entertained (and easily angered), and unaffected by much of what surrounded him. His only vulnerable moment had been when she had denied him. The fae she was traveling with more closely resembled the worry fraught King she had seen oft in her dreams. She worried that it really was the war- the war that she had, indirectly, started. Another sigh as she helped Geoff lay everything out while Mae was collecting some nearby wood for a fire.

Sarah glanced at Geoff when he stopped and moved past her. For a moment, she was worried that they were perhaps under attack while Mae was gone, but as she turned to look, she found that Geoff had abandoned his work to help the fae woman, who was looking at him amused, smiling slightly, obviously not really needing the help, but too amused to stop him. She watched him help her set up a proper fire pit and he attempted to use two sticks to light it. The fae was watching his attempts looking as if she knew something he didn't, and, after awhile, pushed him gently aside, and stretched her hand out toward the wood pile. For a moment, Sarah wondered what she was doing before she saw it. Mae's hand begun to glow for a moment before a flame formed in it and jumped to the wood, the new fire flaring to life. Geoff gave the fire-starter a mock pout at the act, and that's when she realized what the other woman had done. She had been surprised by the action, but once she thought about it she chuckled at herself for not realizing initially. The woman was a fae, and fae held magic. Perhaps not the same magic that humans often imagined, but she recognized it. Fae held a more earthen magic, that was more a part of them than anything else. She didn't know how it worked, but she knew that it was different than any human could create.

Once everything was set up and the sun was beginning to set, the three of them sat around the fire, eating their rations that Ghillie had prepared. For food meant for traveling, it was good, but Sarah missed the meals actually prepared by the old dwarven woman. While the ingredients had seemed odd to her at first, she had found the food to be unusually tastey. She had grown used to it and thought of it on the same level as the old 'grandma's cooking' adage. Geoff had been the one to carry the food and right then he was busy trying to start a conversation with the fae woman, who remained silent, seemingly distracted by her thoughts. After a few moments the boy looked over at Sarah, who only shrugged.

"Mae, you alive over there?" Geoff asked her finally, poking her shoulder. She started slightly and turned towards him at the touch.

"Oh. Yes. My mind was elsewhere." She told him, her voice still seeming distracted.

"Oh? And where was that?" Geoff asked a bit teasingly. "Not off worrying about the King again?"

His words held a slight bit of jealousy, and it showed for a moment on his face when she nodded as well. Sarah didn't exactly know what the relationship between the fae and the king was, and she couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy herself. The other woman had often spoke highly of him, and had even scorned her for not taking him (again not knowing that she was speaking to the subject of her anger), she even had sent him a letter earlier that day, perhaps throughout her stay. The woman never actually defined her relationship with him and it could be assumed that they were lovers or merely friends. Perhaps something else, but without definition, it was left for the two humans to guess. Sarah shook her head, choosing not to think about it, even as the other woman begun to answer.

"Yes. I fear that the war is getting to him." She explained, "He's never dealt with war himself, and as a fae it can be quite difficult if to see war, much less wage it."

This Sarah found odd. She had never given it much thought, but she had never believed that Jareth had never fought a war. He was a king, after all. However, she reminded herself. He was also a fae, and fae were, for the most part, adverse to large scale acts of violence. Their magic usually held their place and such ambition was more of a human thing than any other race she knew of. Except, of course, the so called 'evil' races that existed. So, especially with how Mae spoke of him and his strength, perhaps he had never had anyone rise against him. She frowned in thought, wondering if he really was so powerful that no one had dared even try to battle his kingdom. It was a thought to ponder as she once again remembered that he had essentially offered her his power to control. Himself. She blushed a little at the thought, but quickly dismissed it, not wanting the other two to see and ask.

They went to sleep quickly after eating, all of them tired from the long march of the day. Mae had been the last to fall asleep, watching the other two with an almost pained expression. She had fallen into a light, fitful sleep that had not woken the others, but had either been awake they would have wondered perhaps what was disturbing her sleep. In her dreamscape, she was trapped inside a large cage, alone, yet knowing exactly where she was and afraid for herself in where she was. A voice was speaking from the darkness outside of the cage, the words not entirely understandable, though their meaning was easily conveyed. She was being threatened by this person. She was being hunted. She struggled violently against her cage bars as the figure begun taking shape in the darkness, approaching her, her weapons gone. The figure, a dark man in it's shape, stood next to her cage and, reaching through the bars, grabbed her arm harshly before pulling her towards itself. It's face was distorted, but sinister eyes and a malicious smile could be made out in the darkness as it spoke.

"I will have you again, little fae." It spoke, it's voice dark and menacing, yet holding some sort of enchantment that others, under different circumstances, would find themselves attracted to. He pulled her harshly closer to him and his face leaned forward and pressed it's lips against hers hard.

The action woke the fae suddenly, leaving her in her own cold sweat and shaking with fear. She hurriedly looked about her to make sure of her surroundings and let out a sigh of relief as she recognized that she was where she had left herself. She raised her hand to her lips, horrified as she remembered her dream, even more horrified when she felt the familiar dust on her lips. Panicked, she rubbed it off of her lips and also off of her arm where he had grabbed her, wanting to get rid of the substance. It was much like the dust that had been on the other woman, except instead of the light, almost silver colour that had dusted the other, it was dark and held a bitter taste. Once she was satisfied she glanced at her companions and noticed that the other woman was also dreaming and, curious, stood and walked silently to her side. She noticed the dust forming on the other girl as well and wondered if she should wake her. A glance at Geoff confirmed that he was not affected by the dust.

Sarah, unaware of the other woman watching over her, found herself once again watching Jareth in his chambers. He was sitting in a large comfortable Victorian chair, watching her with an appraising eye. He had remained silent since she had arrived, only watching her. She had stood there for some time, but she had eventually sat across from him in a similiar chair, mostly watching him, occasionally watching her hands, unsure of what to say to him, waiting for him to say something. Eventually she chose to spoke, looking now at him directly. Her eyes trying not to focus on his, but found they drifted to his mouth, which elicited a smirk from him. She blushed and chose instead to look at his forehead as she spoke, trying to hide her blush.

"Why am I here?" She asked him. A question she had wanted to know since that morning, suspecting that he was the culprit. He raised an eyebrow at her question.

"I should be asking you that." He said, his voice holding amusement. "Elle said you were no where to be found, yet almost nightly you visit me with no other explanation."

She looked at him questioningly, she had been sure that he had been behind her dreams from the moment that Mae had mentioned the dust on her and she had realized that it had fallen right where he had touched her. She leaned forward slightly, hoping that he would explain it to her. Explain what the dust was and how she was communicating with him while she slept. Instead of speaking, however, he stood and walked towards her until he stood in front of her chair and leaned forward, laying his hands on the armrests, watching her once more intently. She pulled back slightly, unsure how to react of what he was doing. Like the night before, he once again reached his hand forward, resting his hand on the side of her face, his thumb gently brushing her cheek. She begun to relax and even leaned into it a little, comforted slightly by the feeling. It was almost ethereal, as his hand didn't entirely feel solid or entirely there. His other hand went to her other cheek and she raised a hand and laid it on his, gently closing her eyes.

She felt it as she begun to feel ripped away from him, her disappearance more sudden than the last time, leaving a fully waken Goblin King standing in saddened shock, the hand that she had touched dusted with a similar powder that she too woke with where he had touched. He was surprised, but she wasn't surprised by it, only by the face staring down at her, looking at her slightly worried. She sat up and looked around, seeing the dark and knowing that it was still night, also noticing that Geoff was still asleep. She frowned and looked at the other woman once again, wondering why the woman had woken her when there was no apparent danger.

"You need to be more careful." The other woman told her, bringing up her sleeve to brush off the dust on the other woman.

"What is it?" She asked her tentatively. The other woman paused, frowning, digging into her pocket for a moment and pulling out a small vial and extending it to her.

"I will explain in the morning, once Geoff is awake as well, as it seems that we may all need to be more careful." She told her matter-of-factly before handing the woman the vial, "Drink this and go back to sleep."

Sarah looked at the vial with it's dark green liquid, unsure if she even wanted to drink it. Did she even want to stop the dreams? They were... somewhat comforting. She had learned that he held no anger towards her. The look, however, on the other woman's face, however, told her that she needed to drink whatever concoction she had been handed. Despite her desire to see Jareth and perhaps understand what was happening, not only with the dreams, but the Labyrinth, and, most importantly, himself, she trusted the other woman and, opening the small vial, took one last glance at it before decided to drink it. It's taste was only like alcohol, sweet and bitter. Once she had drunk it she looked once more at Mae, who nodded, standing.

"Go to sleep now Linda." She whispered before walking past her to her own cot.

Sarah felt tired almost immediately, lying herself down and drifting back into sleep. She did not dream for the rest of the night, but her dreamless sleep was not unnoticed. Inside the castle in the goblin city the Goblin King sat in his familiar Victorian chair, resting his head against one hand, looking once again thoughtful. He didn't know why he kept seeing Sarah. He had known that she had entered his Labyrinth the moment she had arrived, and had asked Maelle who she had found. It had been a girl, but not Sarah. He feared that she was held captive and was being sent to him nightly to taunt him, remind him that she had denied him. He wondered if it was sent from his enemy, Azazel, and made note to remind himself to have his spies check to see if there were rumors of her. With a sigh, he stood and made his way to his bed, dressing with a wave of his hand into his nightclothes before falling to sleep himself.

* * *

A/N: So I begun explaining the dust, but I'll have a full explination in the next chapter. I've also given a small look into Maelle's past, as it will have some part to play in the story (though not a large one). For those who are wondering how long it will take to get to Jareth, I'm not entirely sure. Though when we do get to him, Maelle will be taking a back seat. As always, I love reviews! -


	8. Chapter 7: Swear This One You'll Save

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Seven:**

_Swear this one you'll save  
Better lock it, in your pocket_

(Secret - The Pierces)

* * *

The sun woke Sarah the next morning, leaving her feeling at a loss that she had not dreamt of Jareth after she had fallen asleep again. She felt more rested, however, than she had since the dreams had begun. It was an odd feeling and she wasn't sure if she even liked it or not. She looked around and noticed that much like the night before she and Maelle were the only ones awake. Mae's cot was already put away and she was trying to wake Geoff, who seemed to still want to sleep and was swiping at her hand when she tried to shake him. It made her chuckle a little to watch it. He was older than her and yet he still acted like a child sometimes. With a sigh, she stood, putting her own cot away as the other human finally woke, grinning broadly at the fae, who looked slightly annoyed. He too soon begun putting away his cot and the three of them taking out their rations and beginning to eat it as they sat near each other. Sarah glanced at the other woman once she had finished, waiting for the explanation that she had promised. The woman sighed, having finished her smaller rations before the other girl, looking at Geoff, who noticed her glance with curiosity, still eating.

"It seems we need to be more careful with our dreams." Maelle begun, looking off into the distance for a time, frowning.

"Why?" Geoff asked between bites, not having experienced the dreams as of yet.

"There is a flower in the Underground that... well, it enchants dreams." She explained, "It's uses were originally beneficial, used mostly as a way to contact love ones while they slept..."

"It sounds harmless enough." Sarah said quietly, bringing the fae's attention to her. She sighed.

"It was then, but the special property of such dreams allows the dreamer to access an astral state, projecting them to various locations." She paused for a moment, "The problem, however, was that the astral form of the dreamer was, in fact, entirely connected to their body, unlike in a normal dream. While when used to connect with loved ones, it is indeed harmless, but it can and often is used for more sinister purposes."

"Meaning what, we could wake up with bruises or something?" Geoff asked, having finished his food and seeming entirely interesting.

"You could dream yourself a death and then find yourself dead." She deadpanned, "The flower can be controlled and it can also simply be released wildly, the effects lasting to various degrees. It seems that you, Geoff, have been unaffected as of yet, but I am unsure of how long that will last."

"What if the dreams are good?" Sarah asked tentatively, not wanting to give herself away. Mae frowned at the statement.

"Since we do not know who is sending the dreams to you, we cannot be sure of the intent. They may turn bad without warning, having allowed you the good to leave open the path for the bad." The fae spoke, her voice slightly strained, "Without knowing the sender, and more importantly, without the experience to pull yourself back from such dreams, it is dangerous to allow them to continue."

"So what can we do about it?" She asked, disappointed slightly.

"I know a brew that blocks the flower's effects. It's easy for me to make, so I can have a ready supply. The dreams, if they manifest at all, will not hold any of the other affects. If you are injured in them, you will not really be injured." Mae nodded, "However, I doubt that the caster would be powerful enough to get past the brew, as it was created when the flower's properties were discovered. Mostly for those who were angry at their loved ones."

"Alright, sounds good." Geoff said, shrugging.

Sarah was slightly disappointed by the whole thing. She didn't want to give up her dreams with Jareth, but she also agreed to some degree with the fae about the danger. She _didn't_ know who was sending her the dreams, as Jareth had seemed confused by her presence himself. She even wondered if it really had been Jareth. Perhaps that had been part of the dream's illusion. Perhaps her dream-Jareth would attack her even. The thought frightened her. She had been frightened by him when she was younger and had run his labyrinth to retrieve her brother, especially after the cleaners, but it had been a long time since he had. If he became violent towards her, or even his image did... She didn't want to be afraid of him again. The thought itself was disturbing. The conversation, however, ended there as Mae stood and went to dig the things she would need out from her bag. The two humans sat there in silence while she worked, pondering over the new information that they had found out.

Geoff, having not had any dreams, felt less worried, more interested. He was curious as to who might be sending them dreams, and why would dreams be sent to them. None of them, he figured, were all that important, so unless it was so widespread that they were sending it in general to whoever was closest, which would make him think that they'd have less control or they would be less effective. Either way, he wanted to find out the reasoning behind all of it. He was the kind of person who liked finding out mysteries.

After some time Mae returned to where the other two were sitting, her pack on her back and all of her weapons strapped on her. She smiled at them half-heartedly, her mind still on the dream that she had had that night. She knew who it was who was sending the dreams to her, and that he was strong enough to get past her defense. She knew that her companion would be safe, as the dust that had been left on her after her dreams had been lightly coloured. It was the one way that an observer could tell if the sender was hostile or friendly. Whoever had been sending her companion the dreams was friendly, but since she had been sent a very hostile dream, it was possible that her attacker would attack either of her companions. It was highly possible and she knew that it was one of his tactics. She sighed, repressing her frown. She hated him. With a small shudder, she nodded at the others as they finally had finished getting ready.

It was that man that knew more than she did. He sat lounging back in a large plush chair, leather boots resting on an obsidian table, a mirror floating in his view. Inside the mirror were the three companions in the Labyrinth. He wore a smirk on his face as he listened to them speak. His eyes shifted to the brown haired girl once again and paused there, concentrating on her. Her image became larger and he raised a dark brow at the face. Then his smirk widened as he remembered something very important. He knew he remembered her face as soon as he had seen her and he finally knew why now. He remembered the 'dream ball' that the Goblin King had hosted for his human love, and while her appearance was different, he had still recognized her. She had, after all, remained mask less. With a movement of his hand, the mirror's image dissipated and lowered to the table in front of him. He snapped his fingers and a dark creature quickly appeared next to him. It was the same size and had a similar appearance as that of a goblin, but instead of the slightly silly looking appearance of the goblins, this creature seemed more malicious. It's fanged smile spoke of potential horror.

"I want the human girl that my fae travels with." He said, his dark voice sounding seductive and dangerous at the same time. The creature's grin broadened before it bowed and disappeared. He chuckled to himself. "I'm not going to be just a spectator in this little affair any longer."

He laughed once more as the mirror rose in front of him once again, focusing on the small travelling companions, who were doing nothing but walking before he switched the view in the mirror. It travelled to a light haired and tired looking fae. He was recognizable as Jareth. He smirked at the sight. He had never been openly hostile towards the man, even after he had stolen what was his, but now he had the opportunity to get his revenge. Whispering and warmongering, encouraging the Lord to wage his war was not enough for him. No, he wanted a more personal touch. He wanted the fae to feel what he had felt. More so, he wanted to see how strongly he felt for the human woman. He knew exactly how as well. He would get his revenge and he would get what he wanted with one simple plan. The only thing he needed to complete it was the girl.

Jareth felt himself being watched as soon as it began, he dismissed it at first, as known allies were allowed to scry his lands on occasion, but a growing sense of unease overtook him and, with a wave of his hand, he ended the scrying. He frowned. He had been searching his books since he had spoke to Sarah the night before. He had thought that she might have been somehow sending herself to him or was with someone who was able to. Knowing that she knew nothing of how she was arriving worried him. Perhaps her trip through his realm had given her more power than he had previously believed. He had allowed her to retain the ability to see Underground creatures and speak with them, but he had not given her other powers. Not that he had been aware of, at least. He paused, thinking for a moment of their last encounter, wondering if perhaps her denial had given her more than he had thought, but after another moment and recalling the dust that had transferred to his hand, he shook his head.

That was the sign of someone else's hand involved in the matter. Who's however, he didn't know. He wished to thank whomever it was that was allowing him to see his Sarah during the nights. It had given him strength. and a few of his subjects had noticed, but he had not told them why. He smiled a little, looking forward to the night that would come. He was not expecting that he would get very far with the girl, but he enjoyed her nightly company. Whether it meant the same to her that it did to him or not, he did not want to pass up an opportunity to see her. He only hoped that her visits did not stop. He smiled a little as he remembered her last two visits, when she had allowed him to kiss her. A froze for a moment when he heard a knock on the door and with a wave of his hand, allowed it to open.The small squat dwarf walked in, only really nodding his head. He no longer fully feared the King, but he respected his position well enough and had come to respect him once he had learned that the King had been sincere in his feelings for her.

"Yes, Hedgewart?" He asked with a small smirk. He knew the dwarf's real name, but his reactions were amusing.

"It's Hoggle." The Dwarf said stubbornly, always his reply to his name being said wrong.

"None has been able to find her yet, sire." Hoggle said, sounding himself slightly worried. "Maybe I should go out and look for her?"

Jareth could easily see that the dwarf was quite worried about the girl. They had been close friends and he had regretted cutting off their contact. He frowned a little at the dwarf's offer. He knew that perhaps it would be a smart idea, as if she had had her memory altered or she was hiding, that she would trust her friend. He also knew that if he was injured she would blame him for it and he was trying this time to truly win her over. Not only for his kingdom, but for himself and, despite that she would not admit it, her. He had not asked about her life from his subjects who visited her, but they had told him one thing. She had not married nor been serious with any man as of then.

"She may be trying to reach here, Higgle, and I do no believe that my face would be the first she would wish to see." He said with a sigh. The dwarf opened his mouth to speak, but the King raised his hand to stop him, "I understand your concern, but as I'm sure you are aware, it is dangerous at the moment, and she would be very upset if you were to become injured."

Hoggle nodded, sadly, before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. Jareth leaned back once again in his chair, frowning. He himself wanted to leave the castle and search for her. He had even brought up crystals to scry for her, but he also did not want to push her. She needed to come to him on his own, he knew, but he didn't want her to get hurt. He didn't even want her to get caught up in the war. He couldn't send her back if she came to him, not until the war was over at least, but he did wish that she had not come. He knew that she could perhaps end the war with her presence alone, but he did not want to put her in any danger. Another sigh and he closed his eyes, waiting for the sun to fall so that he could see her again.

* * *

A/N: There's the explination. O.o That was a lot of dialouge for me. Hope this chapter didn't confuse anyone. They will be switching a bit more now on who it's following, but we'll be checking in on Sarah and her little group more than the others. Now is when the action is really going to start. I hope you enjoy!


	9. Chapter 8: Cant see what you need to see

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Eight:**

_Living so free is a tragedy  
When you can't see what you need to see_

(Free - Powerman 5000)

* * *

Livius bowed low before the enemy of the Labyrinth, indeed, the enemy of much of the Underground as well as many of the Otherworld realms. The man he bowed to was known as Eirikr, Lord of the Dark Lands. He was the man leading the battle against the Labyrinth. He had always been known to covet the land, as it was one of the few that had a direct link to the human realm and he was a greedy tyrant. His armies had always been larger and even stronger, but he had also known that the key to victory did not lay in the hands of the armies, but in the hands of the Kings. Jareth could control his entire Kingdom with a thought, even was able to use this ability to crush an entire army. His weakness, however, had been the human girl who had denied him. While fae were known for easily falling in and out of love, but he had offered her more than just a short fling. He had asked her to marry him, and that, for a fae, was a more important offer than it was for a human. He had been a fool, but it gave Eirikr his chance. He, however, had had every intention to take advantage of it as soon as he had heard. He had waited and watched for when the Goblin King would be weakest, but he had chose to struck before then on the advice of one of the Dukes of a nearby land, the man who knelt before him now. He had come to explain to him that the King grew weaker and he would soon be able to strike at the heart. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the man, not knowing that he was withholding information from him.

Livius knew that the King that was leading the attack would undoubtedly love to know that the girl had arrived in the realms, specifically that she was being lead by the King's confidant. He smirked cruelly. Like many from the 'evil' kingdoms of the Underground, he was ambitious. If he could get a hold of the Goblin King's beloved, he could gain the upper hand, not just with him, but with Lord Eirikr and perhaps regain his prize. He left the audience chamber with the knowledge that he was going to get what he wanted without ever having to be so much as implied in the entire war. As the doors closed behind him he heard the shuffling of one of his slaves. The creature was required to follow him. He glanced over at the thing, barely human like it had once been. Jareth wasn't the only one who stole children. This one had been his test subjects for more than a few things and he showed it easily. He lifted a hand and the boy flinched, which he merely chuckled at. He enjoyed seeing fear in others' eyes. With the thought, his attention was returned to his original prize.

With a wave of his hand as they left the outer doors, his carriage-like transport appeared before him. He climbed in, his slave boy climbing unto the back end of it. He was not allowed to travel in the main quarters. His master was contented in his plotting. He reached forward and grabbed hold of his mirror, murmuring a few words as he held it up in front of him. The image in the mirror was clouded, causing him to frown. He realized that she must have taken some sort of precautions. He chuckled then, and spoke a new set of words, the image becoming clear immediately. His precious toy had never gained enough control of her magic to even truly slow his own. He gazed into his mirror as Geoff, Maelle and 'Linda' as they made their way to the Goblin City. His smirk grew as he noticed what they didn't. The servant that he had sent for the human girl.

o0o

"This is taking awhile." Geoff said with a slight yawn. It had been three days since they had left the comfort's of Ghillie's home. Maelle glanced over at him with a small shrug. They had not run into anything after the first day and the reason she had explained before. She was not taking them by the fastest way, as it went through dangerous areas, whether it be from the inhabitants or where war was being waged. Sarah sighed, the longer the journey took the longer she felt guilty. The night before she had taken the potion that the fae had given her, and she had been saddened by not meeting him in her dreams. She felt as if they had been walking in circles since the beginning, as little of the landscape had changed very much. Same stone walls day after day. She looked down and stopped, noticing the marking on the ground. It was an arrow, painted in red lipstick. Hers, she knew. She could have laughed. Her friends turned to look back and that was when it happened.

Dark, hideous creatures that dropped from the walls of the Labyrinth, quickly surrounding them. The three drew their weapons and begun the fight as the creatures advanced. Geoff lunged for the one nearest him, his blade skimming it's side. The wound oozed a dark green liquid, but it did not stop. Instead it leapt at him, claws extended with a snarl. He stepped back, but the creature latched onto his torso and bit him hard. He grunted as it's teeth sunk into his skin and grabbed his attacke with his free hand and tried to pull him off. Maelle was in better shape. The creatures surronding her kept leaping at her and the more experienced fae was easily fending them off. When one would jump for her, her blade would be quick to respond. Those surronding her were mostly wounded and she wore a fierce look of rage on her face.

Sarah was the worst for ware. Most of the creatures surrounded her and she had been the least prepared. She was feebly swinging her sword at the creatures while a few of them were clinging to them. One clung to her leg, one to her thigh, and one was on her back. They were all biting and scratching at her all at once and she had little defense. As they swelled on the three companions, their numbers dwindling as the three tried to fight them back, the Fae being the most successful against the creatures. It was as she finished the creatures around her and she turned towards the creatures that were surrounding the girl she knew as Linda. One of the creatures, seeing her, yelped towards the others and a couple of them looked over before digging into their pockets, pulling out small ceramic globe, throwing them. The globes exploded into smoke.

Maelle was caught in the face by the smoke bomb, coughing as it clouded her vision and begun filling her lungs. There was the sound of footsteps and scuffling as the creatures continued to fight before fleeing. The passageway was silent for some time before the smoke begun to clear, leaving the affected fae still coughing, covering her mouth to lessen the effects. She glanced around as she begun to be able to see. She easily spotted Geoff, who looked tired and scarred. Sarah, however, was nowhere to be found. The only thing that was left there was a single grubby piece of paper. The fae growled, an unearthly and enraged sound as she stalked towards the paper and grabbed it.

She read the paper, shock showing on her face for a moment before rage returned. She glanced around their battlefield once more and noticed the body of a still live creature trying to crawl away, it's legs badly injured. She stormed over to it and grabbed it harshly by it's neck, lifting it to her eye-level. She snarled at it and it shrunk back a little, but, noting the note in her hand, began cackling. She shook it harshly and raised the paper to it's face.

"What is the meaning of this?" She snarled, tightening her hold on it's neck.

"Master wants the girl. He will use her, fae." It cackled, it's voice high and scratchy, like nails on a chalkboard.

"I can see that, imp." She growled, "The note says that you took _the_ girl. She is not her!"

The creature cackled once again and the fae tightened her grip on the creature's throat once again. It raised it hands and clawed at hers in a feeble attempt for release, but to no avail. It chose to speak again, it's voice now strained.

"No! She is the girl! Master was at the ball that the King held! He saw her face!" It desperately yelled, hoping to be freed, but she tightened her grip more, "She lied to you!"

With his words, the fae's anger grew once again and with a feral growl, she squeezed tigher, her hand turning a dark red. A sizzling and gurgling noise could be heard as the creature's throat was burned. It struggled more desperately in her hand before it began to slow, it's eyes rolling back into it's head. With a yell, she threw the creature into the far wall, it's body breaking aganst the stone and it's skin still smoking from where she had touched it. Geoff was standing back from her, his eyes widened. He had seen her angry, but not like this. Her otherwordly nature was apparent as her beautiful features took on a more harsh, feral look. She growled once again and aimed her hand at the nearest wall, a ball launched itself from her palm and smashed into the stone, leaving it burnt and most of the wall in the area smashed and broken.

"She lied to us. She was the girl." She told him, her voice dangerously low.

* * *

A/N: If you're wondering why Sarah seems so weak... Just wait. She's going to kick some major bum, but keep in mind she spent the least amount of time training. Just wait and see. And bah, that was an awkward fight scene. Usually I focus on one character more so than the others, but I tried to give them equal attention, so it ended up being less cool sounding... I'm going to try a different way next fight. Hope you like it! I did tell you the action would be soon, did I not?


	10. Chapter 9: Get Me Out of Here

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Nine:**

_Somewhere out there anywhere  
I don't care, Get me out of here_

(Deep- Nine Inch Nails)

* * *

Sarah had been taken by surprise when the horrible looking creatures had jumped on her and knocked her out. She hadn't known why they had been focusing so much on her, she barely knew how to fight. Now, having woken up in a groggy state in an unknown area, she was beginning to think that that was the very reason she had been targeted. None of them were really paying attention to her in the dank room. They more seemed as if they were waiting for something. Fear suddenly overcoming her foggy mind and she jerked forward to run past them, only to be stopped by rough ropes that tied her to the chair she was in. Now even more fearful and hearing the malicious laughter of some of the creatures, she looked around anxiously, hoping to find some way to escape. She didn't know why she was here and she honestly didn't care too much as long as she got out of there. Nothing was close to her except the evil little creatures who now leered at her in sadistic amusement. She shuddered when she noticed their eyes for the first time. Hollow, by all she could see, they had no eyes, merely empty sockets gaping towards her. The effect was more than enough to frighten her in and of itself.

Years ago, she had found Jareth somewhat frightening, but now she was finally understanding exactly what he had meant when he had said he was being nice. She closed her eyes tightly, her breathing shallow and quick in her fear as she heard the things approach her, surrounding her, as if feeding on her fear. With every step they took she grew more fearful and soon she began to feel the prick of tears against her eyes. She was trying to force herself not to cry, but she was largely unsuccessful. She didn't know what these creatures intended to do with her as she felt one slimy hand touch her arm. She jerked away, and so did the creature as what she could only assume was the door slammed open. All of the creatures that surronded her scurried away as she heard the footsteps approach her slowly. She kept her eyes closed, fearing what she would see, but the feel of a soft humaniod hand on her chin surprised her enough to have her forget herself.

"So it seems they did succeed." A velvet lined voice filtered into her ear as she stared.

She hadn't known what to expect, but what she saw wasn't it. His handsomely exotic features marked him clearly to her as a fae, but from his smirk she sensed no warmth towards her. His platinum blonde hair that reminded her Jareth's was tied back in a smooth and tight ponytail. His tailored clothes were just as extravagent as the Goblin King's had been, but they also held hints of morbid design. She pulled her head away from him a little, noticing black pointed nails. He chuckled, the sound deep and almost seductive. Almost, if you had no reason to fear him, but she did and it sounded as cruel as she knew that he was. His hand darted forward, this time wrapping itself around her throat instead, the action nowhere near gentle.

"You, my dear little mortal, will get me what I want." He told her smugly.

"And what is that?" She asked, defiant and curious. He laughed at her question, pulling back from her.

"Your lovely little friend, the Fae." He answered, his strange, goat-like eyes darkening as he spoke, "She is mine and your lover should not have taken her from me."

The comment took her slightly aback. It had taken a moment before she realized who the fae in front of her was talking about. Maelle. He wanted Mae. She could only guess why, but she wasn't keen on finding out, already able to tell that whatever it was, she wouldn't like it. What he meant about her lover, whom she assumed he meant as Jareth, having taken Mae from him, however, she wanted to know more about. She had always gotten the impression from her friend that she had feelings for the King, and it seemed they were close... She wondered if perhaps he had moved on and was only interested in her any longer as a way to fix her kingdom. She frowned, unsure and not wanting to think about it either. She had more important things to worry about than Maelle and Jareth's relationship.

He was watching her intently, studying her with a crucial eye. She shifted nervously under his gaze, not enjoying the feeling that she was getting from him. It felt like he was looking right through her, sensing her every thought and feeling. She felt naked before his gaze. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, trying to ignore the feeling. He simply laughed at her for doing such. She kept her eyes closed as she heard his footsteps fade away, leaving her alone, the creatures having long since left them in there. The feeling of unease remained firmly seated in her stomach despite her new found silence.

o0o

Maelle was eerily calm as she followed the obvious tracks that the vile Alal that had taken Sarah from them and demanded a ransom. Geoff trailed carefully behind. He respected her a great deal, but this was a side of her he had never seen. Her magic aura seemed to pulsate about her in her silent anger, making his stomach actually churn if he came too close. Since he had seen her read the note, her anger and her magic had fluxated violently. He had never before seen her actually use any of it, so seeing it raging like a wildfire was distrubing. He knew the reason though, and that was why he was following her. Linda, or Sarah as she had turned out to be, had lied to them, had hid her true identity from them. He knew that if the fae infront of him had known that that they would have left the very day to the city, taking the shortest route and fighting violently to defend her. He knew the reason why they hadn't followed the shortest path. It was largely uninhabited, save for a few very dangerous creatures. Only enough to count on one hand, but from the way that Mae described them, the two of them would not be able to stand a chance against even one. They were vicious and powerful and she would be endangering even herself to fight them or even to take that path, even if there was a chance they could be avoided.

He shuddered a little at the thought and continued to follow her, but stopped short when he felt another swell of her energy. She turned towards him abruptly, her face blank as she moved towards him. He took a step back from the force and, with a slight look of realization her power suddenly fell so that her aura returned to normal. She bowed her head a little as she approached him before looking him in the eye.

"I have to leave you hear, Geoff." She told him matter-of-factly, "It's going to be dangerous, and I don't want you endangering yourself."

He frowned, but nodded, understanding why she wanted him to stay there. He had watched her fight and had seen how violent and unpredictable she had been. He had only guessed that she had not been more successful because she had been forced to control herself. She glanced around them for a moment before walking to one of the nearest wall and examined it for a moment before tapping carefully on one of the stones. It was a moment before anything happened. A fuzzy blue worm crawled out of a hole near where she had tapped. It looked between the two of them cheerfully, it's red scarf and odd hair swayed with it as it moved.

"'Ello there Miss Maelle, what's the occasion?" The little worm asked, it's accented voice cheery. Mae smiled at it sadly for a moment.

"I need you to watch Geoff here while I take care of some things..." She said, motioning towards the boy. The worm nodded, still smiling.

"Lovely! I'll tel the missus to put on some tea." He said, nodding towards them before retreating into his home, calling after him, "Come on in, Geoff."

Geoff looked at Maelle for a moment confused as to how he would get into there. She motioned towards the hole and smiled a little, amused. He stood there for another moment before he reached for the hole. He was surprised to find that when he tried to reach his hand into the worm's entrance, it easily entered, his arm following and then the rest of them. He soon found himself inside of the worm's house. He turned around and saw Mae's retreating form disappear in a very large vision. He turned towards the worm, surprised to find himself about the same size. The worm chuckled, shaking it's now large head as it turned and moved towards the decorated part of the home.

"You humans, always taking things for granted..." He murmured, amused.

* * *

A/N: Ah! I'm sorry for updating this later than usual! Today was busy! The next chapter will be epic though. Hehe. Thanks for the reviews! I love all my readers! 3


	11. Chapter 10: You can't stop me

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Ten:**

_But in the end you'll see  
You won't stop me_

(Fighter- Christina Aguilera)

* * *

Livicus felt quite victorious. The first part of his plan was complete. He had the girl and soon he would contact, indirectly, the King, waiting first to see if his plaything intended to come to him first. He would not be surprised if she did, hiding her failure from her favoured Goblin King. She thought so highly of him to the point where she put more importance on saving face with him. He chuckled at the thought. She was willing to walk straight into his trap merely to keep his favour. His mirror hovered leisurely above him, showing on it's surface the fae that he wanted. Her temper had attracted him and he had been intent to tame her. He was still glad that he had not succeeded. He was still wanting to tame her, but the challenge continued to intrigue him. He watched as she silently followed his servant's obvious tracks. After a day, he had instructed them to go back and cover them, ensuring that if she chose not to rescue the girl immediately, that she would not find the girl and would have to go to the king. He chuckled once again at the thought. She was so easy to manipulate.

He reached a hand out to touch his mirror, feeling the smooth surface and a smirk spread across his face as his subject glanced back, looking at him directly. She would know that he was watching her, but she could do little about it. Her magic was weak and largely unpredictable and they both knew it. Which was why she, unlike her favoured king, could only sense his scrying, and do nothing about it. He smirked, a slight twitch of his finger bringing the image larger. She had turned away and was continuing on her way, following the purposely made tracks to where her friend was being held. When she arrived, he would swoop in and take her. He hadn't decided what he was going to do with the girl. He could trade her to Eirikr for something or other of interest, or he could bribe the King himself. He chuckled as he waved his hand and the image changed once again.

This time the mirror showed the younger brunette human, Sarah, in her 'cell', now released from the chair she had been tied to and allowed to explore the room. She was currently pacing, obviously on edge. His Alil slaves were watching her door, though none were in the room. She stopped her pacing for a moment, glancing around herself, and he raised his eyebrow slightly at her actions. He hadn't heard anything through the mirror, but it was possible that some small noise had startled her. He shrugged slightly before he once again changed the image, back to the girl he was hoping to recapture. She sighed loudly the moment his gaze fell upon her, telling him that she noticed his presence. He was more focused on where she was than what she was doing. She was almost there. In a few hours she would be there. She had wasted time dropping off the human boy.

o0o

Geoff found himself not very pleased at having been left behind. He knew that he could do little compared to Maelle, but he was worried about them both and he felt useless. Absolutely worthless. He knew it was old fashioned, but he was the man of the group, he should be able to do something. He should be with Maelle helping. It wasn't as if he wasn't capable. Sure, he was only human and therefore couldn't do magic and he wasn't very experienced with real fighting like he would run into here, but he had taken some classes and had gotten into a few fights before, none of which had been serious, but it was more than could be said for Sarah. She had barely begun training and barely knew how to hold a sword. Their week spent training everyday had helped, but not enough to make any real difference. He could do **something**. He had already had tea with the worm pair, and both had gone to bed, leaving him to sit in their living room, unable to sleep. He stood from where he sat and simply stayed where he was for a moment before he decided.

Grabbing his things he quickly headed towards the exit, adjusting his sword-belt as he left. Standing on the precipice and looking down, he stood there for a moment, unsure of what would happen if he left, not entirely familiar with how the laws of nature were affected in the Underground, and more importantly, how it would affect him. He frowned before stepping off of it, feeling as if he were falling for only a moment before he landed, albeit a bit oddly, on his feet, having returned to normal size once again. It took him a moment to regain his composure, the effect of resizing dizzying him slightly, especially in the dusk light. Once he regained his senses he dashed in the direction he knew that Mae had gone, keeping his eye to the ground, looking for the tracks that the creatures had made. He had seen them after they had left with Sarah, that _had_ been rather obvious.

o0o

Livicus chuckled as he watched the human boy leave the worm home in search for the two girls. He had expected him to do such a thing, it was quite apparent that the human had feelings for his Mae, but he only knew her reservations about such relationships. He watched him run down the paths of the Labyrinth, following the trail, although with less accuracy than the fae had had. He had the disadvantage of the timing and lacked the proper knowledge of how magic affected the lands. He was surprised, however, that he had yet to get entirely lost. Perhaps it was his determination. He hardly believed it was any foolish thing like love that was guiding him. He didn't even believe in it. Luck, however, was entirely possible, though. The scene folding out before him was turning into quite an amusing performance for him and he intended to enjoy every bit of it. He already knew what he was going to do with the boy if he arrived at the make-shift hideout in time for his arrival.

o0o

Sarah was once again pacing her prison, trying to think of something to do, some way to escape. Her mind kept drifting, however, to the feeling she had gotten earlier. She had been doing what she was now when she had felt... something. It was hard for her to describe how it had felt, but she knew she had felt it before. Like someone had suddenly turned on a heater and also that someone was looking at her. Normally, when she had felt it before, it had not disturbed her. She had barely noticed it before, but this time... this time she had felt it as if it was an alarm going off. She frowned, wondering what it might have been. She knew that she could figure it out, she just needed to know where she had felt it before. Then it hit her. She had felt it often while in the Labyrinth before, occasionally after she had left and she had suspected afterward what it might be. Now it made sense. Someone was watching her. She shuddered at the thought and knew it wasn't Jareth. He probably didn't even know she was in trouble, much less where to find her. She sat against the wall, drawing her legs to herself at the thought.

It was very likely that the man she had met earlier was the one waging war against the Labyrinth and intended to use her as collateral. She hugged herself tighter thinking about it. She desperately needed to find a way out, or at least a way to tell someone where she was. She sat there for a moment more, thinking. She was a smart girl, but more often than not she thought better in the moment than planning things out. Her plans rarely worked as intended, mostly because she would change her plans when the time came, whether for better or for worse. She looked around the room once again, looking at everything in the room to see if there was anything that could help her, but, aside from the chair, the bucket she had yet to use, and what looked like a thing pile of blankets, there was nothing. She stood up again and walked over towards the blankets and thought for a moment, worrying over what she should do.

Deciding that her rash plan was better than nothing, she quickly laid out the blankets and curled herself into them, trying to sleep. She didn't know how long Mae's potion lasted, nor even if it would work, but she had to try. Seeing Jareth was better than nothing. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, focusing her thoughts on what her previous dreams had done before, and bringing herself to see him. She shifted after a moment to attempt to become more comfortable, anxious about the endeavor, but determined. She begun to drift off, but she did not go anywhere in her dream-scape. She found herself in the same empty room, sitting on the bed. It was different though. She wasn't alone. A transparent man sitting with a mirror sat in the chair, seemingly unaware of her. She stood and walked over to get a better look, the figure not even noticing her movement. When she got closer she noticed that it was the man she had seen earlier. She took a step back, startled, but after a moment and him not even flinching, she approached once more, reaching out in an attempt to touch him.

Her hand easily went through him and he seemed unaffected, save for a small twitch. She frowned, wondering what was going on, when she caught sight of what was in the mirror. Instead of a reflection of the man looking into it, she saw Mae, as if from above, swiftly moving through the Labyrinth's edges. It changed quickly and she saw Geoff still in the Labyrinth, but seeming to follow the same trail. _'They must be trying to find me!' _She reasoned, smiling at the thought. The image changed back to it's previous and she reached forward to see if she could touch the mirror when something strange happened. As soon as her fingers got close to the mirror, it became solid and she could actually feel it's smooth surface. She had barely touched it when she found herself suddenly awake in her makeshift bed, sitting up and gasping for breath. That's when she felt it again.

o0o

He was furious and perplexed. She had been there, in his quarters, she had touched his mirror. He had not even so much as sensed her until mere moments before she had touched his scrying tool. He had stood immediately, prepared to grab her and perhaps even kill her where she stood, but as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone, leaving him angry and confused. His home, especially his study, was protected against such things and the mere thought that she had somehow been there disturbed him. She was human. She wasn't even supposed to be able to do that under the best of circumstances. For a moment he was tempted to throw the mirror in his rage, but thought against it, changing it's forgotten image to focus on the girl. She was sitting mostly covered by a blanket off to the side, looking as if she had just woken up. She was looking around wildly, confused and scared and he smirked a little. Perhaps it had been someone else's hand that had been in play, as she barely seemed like she could think straight, but that thought was dashed when he noticed her gaze fall directly on him.

Raising an eyebrow, he changed his angle with a slight movement, thinking she was merely staring at that one spot. Her eyes moved with him, though, now focusing on his new location. He did so again, and again her eyes followed. He frowned, now once again perplexed, as modern humans never could feel scrying, much less pinpoint it. He knew she was a human, there was no doubt about that, so how could she be doing such a thing? _Had she become practiced in ancient magics?_ He shook his head at the thought, it was impossible, there were too few of those who even knew how to read the scripts that taught such things. His frown deepened as he continued to watch. She stood, suddenly calm and walked towards where he was watching, approaching it until she was practically face to face with him. "Let me go." He heard her say before her hand reached up and towards him, and suddenly his connection broke.

* * *

A/N: Originally, this chapter had been quite a bit longer, but I had cut it in half so that I didn't get through all of the cool stuff all at once... I also might update sooner with the next chapter because of this too, so don't fret! No promises, but I might. As always, reviews are very much appreciated!


	12. Chapter 11: And Through Your Confusion

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Eleven:**

_And through your confusion  
Know that you are chosen to this fight _

(Sophia - The Crüxshadows)

**

* * *

**Maelle had felt the disgusting man watching her the moment he had begun. She knew the feeling well and loathed it, even if it was someone she knew and actually cared for. Jareth knew better than to ever watch her, which was probably why he had not seen the lying girl and been able to tell her ahead of time. She cursed the human slightly, but felt guilty for doing so. She understood why the girl had lied. She had made it quite clear that she resented her when she hadn't even know who she really was. Her opinion of the girl wouldn't have changed, but she could have done her job properly and gotten the girl, safely, to the Goblin City and to Jareth's castle. She cursed once again. She still disliked the idea that the girl was practically the only hope for the Labyrinth. Little was known about _how_ she could save them, but it had been impressed upon her, the King and a few of his advisers that she was the key. Such predictions in the otherworlds were always vague and mostly useless. It had taken them some time to even figure out that it had meant her! She pulled a face when the thought arouse that the kingdom's safety might fall on her accepting the offer that she had rejected so long ago.

The act had always made her angry. She cared deeply for the King, and she gave much for him, and despite this he had chosen a girl that was too niave to even realize what she was being offered. It had been a rare thing. Fae fell in love quickly and deeply, but they also fell out of love just as fast. They were controlled by their ever changing emotions, so for him to have asked such a thing of her, for him to offer not only himself, but his kingdom, was no small thing. Which she had merely tossed aside. She knew that he truly cared for the young human, and the loss had devastated him. She had believed that he would recover and return to who he had been before he had seen her, but the news of war, shortly thereafter followed by the news that she was the key, had not allowed him to. Or so she believed.

She felt the scrying leave her for some time, presumably to focus on something else before it returned. She resisted the urge to growl and wished that she could dispel a scrying, but the magic for such a feat was beyond her capabilities. It was what often made her miss her parents, as they had barely begun her training when they had been killed and she had been taken. She did growl at the memory, uncomfortable with the ones that would follow. She pushed it from her mind and continued on her way, trying to ignore the man she knew was watching her every move. It was because of her determination to ignore it that she didn't notice the new presence behind the scrying at first, but as, unbeknownst to her, Sarah's hand begun to near the mirror, she felt it. She felt a presence that she somehow immediately recognized at the girl and she stopped, surprised. She looked back at where she knew the magic was coming from and felt the intense flux of someone taking another's scrying tool.

The feeling faded as quickly as it had appeared and she was left pondering. While she could practice little magic, she knew enough about it's practice to know that taking over someone's scrying tool, even for a moment, was difficult. To do so required not only touching the object, but going through the spells that stopped such a thing from happening. She had only seen it once. Livicus had done it to a weaker elfish wizard. For Sarah to have done so... Was impossible. He would never leave her unbound in the same room as himself while scrying. She doubted he would even leave her bound in the same room as him. He was quite careful with the safety of his scrying, as one's scrying tool could not only be used in reverse by anyone who gets past it's defenses, but it also recorded what had been scryed. Useful for replaying events later on, but potentially harmful if it fell into the wrong hands. She frowned and continued on her path as she felt the scry leave her once again. She had a theory on the matter, however, but testing it would have to wait until she found the girl.

o0o

Jareth found himself suddenly awake and in an upright position. He had felt her. In some unfamiliar and far off way, he had felt her reach out for him. The feeling had been so strong that it had surpised him. He had felt her reach out to him many times before, he felt it practically every time she thought of him, but this had been different. It's intensity had far outrivaled any before, and in her call her had felt magic. It was not that magic that had surprised him, as he had enchanted it so that if she called to him he would feel a magical tug, even if she did not say the right words. This was not his magic, however. Nor was it any he was familiar with. He frowned, worried that she was in trouble and someone was sending her plea to him. Perhaps his enemy had truly captured her. He roughly pulled the covers off of himself and nearly leapt out of his bed, materializing a crystal orb as he did so, stalking towards one of the more comfortable chairs in his room as he focus on Sarah, hoping she would appear in it unharmed.

What he saw disgusted him. She was in some sort of empty stone room, alone, with little in it with her. She was standing in one corner, hugging herself and glancing about, shivering slightly. She begun glancing about when he focused on her, looking a bit hopeful. Her gaze finally landed on him and she smiled. "Jareth." He heard her call out, and he wished that he could merely go through the orb to rescue her, but with war looming over his land, he could not so much as leave the castle unless she wished for him. He smiled sadly back at her, glad that she could recognize him, not caring why in the least. If nothing else, he could give her comfort. A noise from the orb alerted them both that something else was amiss.

o0o

The two way mirror lit up unexpectantly, surprising the eyeless creatures as they were milling about. They crept slightly towards it, curious as to why their master had chosen so soon to call upon them. They weren't going to be called, he had said. He would merely appear when his target got closer. Their master's angry face appeared on their mirror, scowling at them. A few of them scuffled around, nervous and hoping that that had not displeased him. One of them, who was considered their unofficial leader, walked closest to it and gave a small salute. They were all nervous and worried and wondering why he was wanting to speak with them.

"Where is the girl?" He growled, his face contorting in a feral way. The creatures looked about themselves before one went to the door and opened it slightly, looking in, before closing the door.

"She's in there, milord." The creature spoke.

"Then explain to me how she appeared in my study only moments ago!" His already loud voice projecting itself even more through the mirror.

They looked about themselves nervously, shrugging and chattering amongst themselves. None of them knew. She was human. She was locked away in the room. She had not left it, the entire group had remained in the room outside of her cell the entire time. There were no windows or any sort of possible exits in the room either. It was smooth solid walls with nothing else. There was no way that she could have left the room period, much less without them noticing.

"Find out!" He growled before his image faded and the mirror returned to it's original state.

o0o

Sarah was pacing the small cell, thinking once again. She felt Jareth's eyes on her as she moved, but it didn't bother her. She actually felt slightly comforted by it. It was obvious he didn't know where she was and couldn't help her, but the new turn of events had got her thinking. She had, while sleeping, been sent to her kidnapper's room and he hadn't even noticed her, in fact, she hadn't even really been substantinal until she had touched his mirror. After she had woken up, she had not only been able to sense his scrying, now recognizing what it was, but also pinpoint it and end it. She had reacted on instinct, merely reaching out her hand and touching the spot that the scrying was originating, ending it. She looked over at where she knew Jareth was watching. She frowned for a moment.

"I'm going to try something, Jareth." She told him. "I have no idea if it will work."

She then reached up and touched the spot where he had been watching, breaking the connection. She heard the door open and the eyeless creature look over at her. She frowned at it as it closed the door before walking over. She simply stared at the door for sometime, listening to what was on the other side. She could hear her kidnapper yelling at his 'slaves'. She waited until he stopped talking and listened for more movement. She knew what was coming next and she stepped back as soon as she heard the foot steps. The creatures surronded her in a tight circle, glaring at her threateningly. She didn't look worried, merely watching them all calmly. In reality, her heart was beating rapidly and she felt faint. She was praying her plan was going to work. Their leader stepped forward through the circle infront of her, it's eyeless sockets being the only ones to glow.

"What are you?" It asked, it's voice low and meant for intimidation.

She paused, thinking it over as she felt an odd tugging sensation behind her heart. She smiled lightly, not knowing what it was but reacting on instint. She lifted her hands slowly and gave him her answer.

"I don't know."

o0o

Maelle was getting close, she knew it. The tracks were becoming less obvious and she could feel Livius watching her every movement. His scrying was intense and the familiar heated weight made her irritation more intense. She froze and looked back when she heard a noise, ducking behind a tree on the edge of the Labyrinth as she listened to the sound of footsteps get closer. She didn't know what it was, but she wasn't too intent on identifying that. She didn't trust anything that was beyond the Labyrinth. As the sound stepped infront of her she leapt forward, a dagger to the creature's throat, intent on slicing it open. That is, until she recognized who it was. She pulled back, but didn't step away.

"What are you doing here, Geoff?" She asked, her voice hard to hear despite her close proximity.

"I couldn't just sit there and wait, Mae!" He protested and made to continue, but was stopped when she covered his mouth with her hand.

He closed his mouth and she pulled her hand away and nodded, raising a finger to her lips before she turned and begun to lead him through the outlying woods. The tracks grew fainter as they moved until they dissappeared. The two were lost for a moment, but continued on their way for a few paces more. Even in the dark of the night they could see the ruined stone building, remnants for one of the various ancient empires that dotted the Underground. Few would believe or even acknowledge them, but time moved differently in the Fae-realms, so it meant little. They stood there for a moment, noticing the lack of outside guards. Mae also noticed the sudden absence of Livius' scrying. She took a step forward but stopped at what she saw next. In an instant the entrance, a rotting wooden door, blew off it's hinges, violet fire erupting from inside from every exit it could in one violent blast. She looked back at Geoff and his expression mirrored her own. Horror. They both knew that Sarah was in there and after only another moment, dashed forward to try and save her.

**A/N:** Another cliffhanger, I know, but this one is predictable, I think. As always, reviews are loved! Infact, in case you're wondering, I do actually base how long and how often I update on the reviews. If I don't get any reviews one week, the next chapter will probably be late. If it happens for more than one week in a row, I will wait for someone to review. If I get bajillions of reviews, I will start updating as often as possible! Yes. I am bribing you all! Mwahahahaha!


	13. Chapter 12: Remind me of the Days

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Twelve:**

_Burning whispers,_

_Remind me of the days_

(World so Cold by Mudvayne)

* * *

Sarah laughed like madness had taken her. She laughed as the flames licked her body and bellowed out from her. It felt like ecstasy and she didn't know it's source. She hadn't known what would happen but she had known that after whatever happened she would be free. In more ways than one. She barely felt her own thoughts as she moved. It was like insanity without the possibility of sanity. She was not herself as she stepped over the blackened and charred bodies of the creatures she had burned. She cackled as she kicked one of them harshly. It's body twitched slightly and she smiled manically. Her face was lit up with glee and she walked through the ruined building towards the exit without knowing where it was. She merely walked aimlessly. Once the creatures surrounding her were dead, the fire that had surrounded her faded and was no more. Her body posture as she moved slowly seemed to fade as well, her movements slowing, feet dragging, head and back slumping forward until she reached the door and promptly fell onto herself, her face landing in the soft dirt at the door's entrance. She was unconscious nearly instantly.

o0o

Whatever Maelle and Geoff had expected, what they had found had not been it. They found Sarah lying at the front entrance of the old and ruined building, face down in the dirt and seemingly fast asleep. She even looked peaceful. The fae frowned, sensing some sort of odd aura around the girl as she lay there, but not quite recognizing it. It seemed familiar, but why she couldn't quite place her finger on it. Shaking her head, she dispelled such thoughts, not caring too much for the thoughts. She bent over the girl and gently felt her pulse and her neck, checking for injuries. She was warm to the touch, but upon finding none, she nodded to herself before carefully lifting the girl. She worried that she might have an injury that couldn't be seen, some magical injury that was affecting her. She would not put it past Livius, as he, while practically useless in hand to hand combat, he was a very accomplished magic user. She frowned, cradling the girl as carefully as she could. The girl wasn't very heavy, but dead weight was always difficult to carry.

Geoff held out his arms as if to take her, but Maelle shook her head, not intending for one moment to let the girl out of her reach until she knew what had happened in the building and if she was alright. Looking around, she begun to walk, searching for a safer place to lay her. A nearby outcropping of trees looked promising, so she begun to walk, holding the girl as if she were already dead. She was angry and worried. She feared for the Labyrinth if she died, cared for the girl and was furious she was lied to. The girl was important, as much as she loathed the knowledge, and despised what she had done to the man she respected, but she had regardless grown close to her. She also understood that she shouldn't have. She should have seen the lie. She had been trained to read people, she knew how to read people better than she read words of any language, but she had missed the lie.

Entering the outcropping and finding a flat expanse of grass, she laid the brunette girl down, brushing her hair out of the girl's face as she begun to stand up. She sighed and looked over at Geoff with a somber face. He returned it, his emotions flowing from him more freely than her and for a moment she was jealous of it. Fae born free always grew to become emotional, transient creatures, as faithful as the breeze and as predictable as a storm. She however, had learned early to hide her emotions. She touched a gloved hand to her black hair and felt a pang of regret. Magic. Magic had made her what she was. Livius' magic. He had cut her down from the moment he had met her, changing her forever, and her hair, a trait of a pure fae, reflected that. She had been tainted, though the reason she could barely remember. She didn't even want to try. For hair to become dark for a fae was rare, especially for a woman. It meant that they had drifted too far from their nature and done something that they regretted-if they even bothered to remember. Memory loss on such events were common, as they more often than not occurred by the will of some sorcerer, and the spells that enabled such things affected them in strange ways. A small moan shook her out of her thoughts. She knelt down and pressed her fingertips to the girl's cheek carefully.

"Lin- Sarah? Are you alright?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She blinked quickly, rapidly, her mouth opening slightly.

"Where- where am I?" She asked, her voice raspy and barely louder than Maelle's. "What... happened?"

* * *

A/N: Alright, so I was going to start with more & longer chapters, but NaNoWriMo is this month and I do intend on publishing a book eventually, so I wanted to participate, so unfortunately that means that the next four chapters will probably end up being two normal length/long chapters cut in half. After November, though, I will be going back to my plan of updating more and often. Sorry that this one is so short. I do plan on updating on Tuesday, so I hope you don't get too mad at me!


	14. Chapter 13: Yesterday away from You

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen:**

_Yesterday away from you_

_it froze me deep inside_

(In Between Days by The Cure)

* * *

Jareth had immediately felt worried when she had ended his scrying, effectively blocking him from seeing what she was going to do. He cursed, focusing on his crystal so to try and gain sight of her again before she did anything crazy, but to no avail. She had not only ended his scrying, but was now blocking him from trying again. The best he could get was a light fog where he could only hear quietly muffled yells and screams, unable to even determine whose they were. He was frowning, worried about what was going on when he saw a flash of red and orange behind the fog and even felt the heat through his orb. It looked like a fire had erupted, but who had started it? He focused harder on the image behind the fog, trying to catch a glimpse of what had happened. She was a rash girl, jumping into things before she even knew how dangerous they were. The Fae Royal cursed once more as the fog in his glass orb only increased, throwing the item away from him, ignoring how it shattered against the stone wall before disappearing. He could easily summon a new one, but he was glad to be rid of the object of his frustration.

Standing up, he begun pacing, his hands clamped firmly behind his back, worrying over what he could do. Nothing. He could do nothing. He had no inkling of where she might be, and therefore no way to go there, much less direct anyone there. He could not leave his castle due to the illness of him and his lands, of his magic. Maelle blamed the girl for his condition, but Jareth blamed himself. He had taken her to his lands too soon, and he had offered her everything while knowing she would deny him. A frustrated sigh escaped his lips and he turned, angrily. He had been a fool. He had played the part he believed would win her. He had seen her face when she recited the play book he had left for her. She had longed for him, for the Goblin King of her book, but when she had been confronted with him, she had rejected with him, believing that he would truly turn her sibling into a goblin. While he had the ability to do so, he rarely actually did. Children who were left with him because their family had no desire to keep them were deposited with suitable families, usually among the sidhes, as they were quite fond of children and it prevented them from stealing them. Sidhe could rarely give birth, though they lived lives longer than the rest of the fae folk.

He should have just told her. No, he should have been more patient, given her the book later in her life, or not taken her brother when she had asked, or perhaps even been easier on her when she had arrived. Now it was beginning to look like he would have no chance to win her over. The illness on his magic would remain, but that mattered little compared to the loss of Sarah. His kingdom, he could find a suitable successor and transfer the magic of the kingdom to him before he would end up dying from the painful effects of the prolonged magic. Her presence in the Labyrinth had strengthened him slightly, and he constantly felt the tug of his magic that he knew was his lands reacting to her. His maze, to be precise. His magic had been transferred, largely, into the creation of the Labyrinth, and as a result the magical creation often pulsed of it's own accord with life and a magic it had gained of it's own. The castle was his safety as it had been made not by him, but by his father, and in it he relied on his father's magic rather than his own.

The Labyrinth was a being in it's own right, and it was the Labyrinth that had infected him. Upon his omission to the girl, the Labyrinth, without waiting for her answer, had latched unto her with a fervor, and her departure had weakened it's magic. Just as it had weakened his. It was why the fae folk did not often create through their magic. If anything happened to it, they would be weakened themselves, considerably more than if they had done something like he had without the creation. He would have been weakened, but his kingdom would not have been so weakened. No one would have dared attack his lands, if anything they would have only attacked him directly, an assassin attempt rather than full out war, if they had found a way to know at all. He frowned, stopping his pacing and thought for a moment. While he could not view Sarah, he could still scry Maelle, as she had not the magic to block him, and he already knew that she would be searching for the girl. With a careful wave of his hand, he pulled a crystal into being, the glass orb balanced carefully in his hand, focusng his will to show him the other fae.

What he saw did nothing to calm his fears. Maelle was cautiously bent over Sarah, running a careful hand along her face, checking for injuries. Sarah's breathing was shallow, but not difficult. She seemed merely sleeping, as if she had not mere moments ago she had done something dangerous. She was live, however, and that in itself was comforting, despite that he did not know how long it would last. She did not seem at full health, without being there he could not know for sure. It distressed him greatly.

o0o

Sarah found herself running the Labyrinth like she had years ago, yet none of the paths she took were familiar. The walls looked crumbled and nearly destroyed. She stopped to run her hand along the ruined surface, and jumped slightly when she felt a pulse through the stone. It jumped at her touch, the weak pulsating becoming stronger at her touch. She frowned slightly, keeping her hand on the wall as she moved, watching carefully as she followed the walls without a purpose farther in. She felt herself being pulled, gently yet insistently. It was doubtless that the Labyrinth that was leading her somewhere, but it showed no other signs of it than the pulse beneath her fingers. She found herself underground and oddly felt herself under the Goblin city, despite that she had not seen it at all on her way. She found herself being blindly lead into darkness, the wall she held to being her only guide in the pitch of the tunnels. Then she begun to see it, a small light. She moved forward, towards it, her body feeling lighter as she moved, as if the light she was moving to was slowly filling her. When she arrived in the center, she was nearly blinded by the light, a figure in the middle of the blinding room. She stepped forward, releasing her hand from the wall and reached towards the figure, calling out.

"Jareth!"

With her words and the lightest touch of her hand against him, she found herself jerking up into a seated position, awake and aware, but entirely confused. She frowned, the blinding light of her dream not allowing her eyes to focus properly. She found herself wanting to be with Jareth, practically needing to as her vision finally focused, her companions, Maelle and Geoff coming into a sharp focus. She frowned and looked away, seeing their worry and not knowing why.

"What happened?" Maelle asked and Sarah frowned, shaking her head.

"I don't know..." She murmured, her memory fuzzy and indistinct.

* * *

**A/N**: Alright, there is your second chapter of the week. Longer than the last one, and I hope you like it! As usual, reviews are loved! Now I'm off to D&D!


	15. Chapter 14: I'm a Good Person

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen:**

_ I'm a good person  
Don't wanna fight with no one_

(Why Don't You Come Over by Garbage)

* * *

Sarah frowned as she walked, still stumbling slightly since the night before when she had emerged from the building with no real memory of what had happened. All she remembered when she would push herself was moments before when she had felt Jareth watching her and then brief glimpses of fire. She had come out unscathed and whole, so it would lead her to believe that she had somehow caused it, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out how. Just as Maelle had said, she was only a human, that was all she had ever been, and even if she had somehow carried other magic or had somehow otherwise changed, the spell she had cast would have read it. In the end, the spell's answer had been indistinct. Her aura had been human, although it had also seemed to, apparently, hold a stronger pull than most. As if her aura was pulling itself towards the Labyrinth. While the Labyrinth's aura could not be sensed by normal spells as it was not truly a living being, Mae had told her, she suspected it was doing much the same. A frown framed her delicate oval face as she pondered what it would mean.

With her unusual aura and her dream, things were beginning to seem peculiar. She had felt connected to the Labyrinth since even before she had left it, but she had always assumed that it was due to her belief in it and in it's magic, but now she was beginning to wonder. She certainly felt that her part to play in this, her new story, was much bigger than she initially imagined. Her fae friend had told her that her denying Jareth had weakened him, perhaps it had done more, and meant more, than she believed. What exactly it all meant, she needed to know, and soon. She didn't want to have any more... incidents like she had had the night before, nor did she want to be the cause of the Labyrinth and it's King's defeat. She sighed and glanced at Mae. The woman had barely talked to her after trying to figure out what had gone on. She could feel the tension in the air and she knew why. The fae had made her opinions about her, and specifically what she had done to Jareth, quite apparent, and Sarah had lied to her about who she was.

The aura reading had happened at midday, when they had arrived safely into the Labyrinth, it was almost nightfall and while Sarah had cast continuously worried glances at the other girl, none had been returned. The fae was ignoring her. Another sad sigh escaped her as they stopped. Maelle walked over to Geoff and spoke to him briefly, instructing him to gather some wood, a useless task in reality, but he nodded and went off to do so regardless, casting the other human a sympathetic glance. They both seemed to know why he had been sent off and what she intended to do. She swallowed nervously and stood there as the taller woman turned to her, her face hard, showing no trace of emotion. She stalked forward threateningly, her eyes firmly set on Sarah, her unusual cat-like pupils dilating in her anger. A low growl escaped her throat as a hand shot forward quickly and wrapped around her throat, tightening slightly.

"You lied to me." She growled, her voice now feral instead of it's usual elegance. "Tell me why I should allow you to live."

Sarah's eyes widened at the threat and she stuttered for a moment, unsure of what to say. The girl who she had thought was her friend was now threatening to kill her. She finally understood what people meant when they said that Fae were dangerous, unstable. In mythology they were both kind and cruel, but one thing had always been certain. They were vengeful creatures. Sarah had not only hurt the man that the other woman seemed to care for- perhaps even love, but she had also lied to her about it as well. She was worried that perhaps she really was going to kill her. A tightening around her throat and the fae begun to speak once again.

"I will not let you hurt him again." She intoned. "If you do, I will not hesitate to kill you. Understood?"

Sarah nodded warily before her throat was released before the fae stepped back and it seemed to confirm for Sarah that the fae cared, deeply, for Jareth. What their relationship was, she didn't know. Perhaps she had taken him from her or perhaps it had always been some sort of secret or some sort of unrequited romance. She was afraid to ask, regardless of her pondering, as she rubbed her pained neck. She leaned back against the wall, her recovered pack, slightly scorched, fell beside her as she begun to recover from her confusion and slight fear. When she had first run the Labyrinth against it's king, she had feared him, as he had indeed been frightening, but, as she saw now very clearly, had been a ruse for her benefit, while Mae's true frightening anger had left her with a very clear message and a deep sense of fear.

She was busy watching the ground beneath her when she heard footsteps, frightened that the fae was coming back for another threat, she was surprised to see Geoff in front of her, his hand extended to her slumped form. She smiled slightly at the boy as she took his hand, pulling herself up and grabbing her bag as she followed his careful lead to where they were now set up. The fire was already started and Maelle's cot was set and she was busying herself with preparing their meal. After both humans had set up their cots in silence, their meal was finished and they ate in the same tense silence, the humans unsure of what to say and the fae was simply fueled by her anger.

* * *

**A/N**: This scene is one I've been wanting to do since I started writing! Admittedly, this is a toned down version, but I am happy that I finally got to do it! Again, I may update on Tuesday if I have the time. Reviews are loved!


	16. Chapter 15: There's Nowhere Else to Go

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen:**

_'Cause we're far away from home  
And there's no where else to go_

(They Can't Save Us Now by Kill Hannah)

* * *

Livius was a cursing, raging, angry mess. He had been made a fool! Whatever had happened in his secreted building, he didn't even know. He was one of the best scryers in the underground, indeed, in most of the fae realms, and yet she, a human girl, had ended not one, but two of his scryings as easily as if she were brushing away dirt. It infuriated him beyond words. The little boy he kept as a slave had hobbled off somewhere after he had finished beating him, his anger not entirely quelled. He didn't know how she had done it. He had one idea. Stories he had read of humans becoming fae and other such rubbish. Fiction, all of them, but part of them mght be true. After all, elders warned against infusing buildings, much less an entire labyrinth, with your own magic. It was foolish. Using magic to build it was one thing, pouring, essientally, your very soul into it... Jareth, the fool of a fae, had not only done so, but had then offered marriage to a human girl. Another foolish endeavor.

The cruel fae sighed, dispelling his thoughts and calming himself. Pondering over the foolish romantic implications of the Goblin King's relationship. It would tell him nothing of how the girl had done what she had, nor would raging and beating any more of his slaves. A growl as he stalked out of his study. One of his enslaved creatures, a dwarf, flinched at his presence and he smirked. He enjoyed inciting fear into others. It was a simple pleasure. "Fedgeworth. I need you to tell Lucien that I want him to study the consequences of both infusing something with one's magic and the consequences, specifically, of a human rejecting a proposal." He told the creature, a cruel smile playing on his lips. Perhaps his associate could tell him more. After all, the elf could barely keep his nose out of a book. Out of anyone, he would know how such a thing had happened, and how to use it against the Goblin King and his lover.

o0o

Geoff watched the two girls in silence. He had felt hurt from Linda- Sarah, lying to them as well, but not, it seemed, as much as Maelle had. He had ended up being hurt more by Mae. He cared for her, deeply, maybe even loved her, and while she had never exactly done anything to show that she returned the feeling, she had said to him that she did not love Jareth. He, however, had heard her when she had been talking to Sarah and didn't believe her. When she had told him she did not love Jareth he had felt hopeful that she might, at least someday, love him. He was a hopeless romantic, he always had been, and he had truly wanted her to return his feelings. Her words led him to believe that she never would. He sighed and looked once again between them as they sat there eating their morning meal. He had liked it before they had found out. They had all been friends. Maelle glanced over at the human boy and gave him a small smile, which he returned weakly.

"We're going to have to cut through the tunnels now." Mae announced, standing as she finished her meal. "Especially since I'm sure Livius will now be more intent on coming after us. We need to get to Jareth as soon as possible."

Sarah opened her mouth to speak, to say something to the fae, a small noise escaping her, but with the woman still ignoring her, she said nothing, closing her mouth and looking down at her feet. She sighed and nodded, her guilt overwhelming her. Guilt, and some fear. She still didn't know whether the girl would do as she said or not, but she wasn't too keen on finding out. She felt bad about lying to them, she hadn't thought it would have been this big of a deal when she had lied. She sighed, glancing over at her human companion, who gave her a reassuring smile. He wasn't mad at her, which she considered a good thing. She nodded to herself and stood, packing her things for the trip ahead.

She didn't know the implications of taking the tunnels. Her time in the Labyrinth previously had left her with only one tunnel experience, really, the tunnel with the cleatners. She shuddered a bit at the memory, while the thing had, she realized now, been moving too slow to catch her unless she had walked, she had not realized it then and been afraid. She had thought he had meant to hurt her. It really had been that that had cemented her decision to do nothing but rescue Toby. She had always secretly pined for the man in the book, but that had, to a degree, made her change her mind. If he hadn't sent that, things might have ended differently, she thought to herself. Perhaps his little peach induced dream ball would have had the desired effect, rather than merely confusing her. When her things were packed she looked at the other two with a small smile, her mind having drifted off to the past.

Mae nodded and, turning, started to walk straight towards a wall. Sarah was not entirely surprised when she walked straight into it and disappeared, Geoff seemed to be, however. Smiling at him once again and touching his shoulder lightly, she followed, finding, on the other side, the two- soon to be three- of them were in a dark staircase. She frowned for a moment as her eyes tried to adjust. She couldn't see very far ahead of her, despite that the fae in front of her had lit up her hand like a torch. Once Geoff appeared behind her the fae nodded and begun to descend the stairs, her feet barely making a whisper on the stone. Sarah frowned as she followed, the darkness seeming to get heavier as she moved.

"Keep your weapons ready." Was all Mae said, but no one caught the look on her face as she said it.

* * *

**A/N**: Blah, so I know I probably over explained this one a bit at the beginning. Oh well. Most of it's just how I write, really. I write in third person, but I also explain, somewhat, what the character is thinking without actually putting it as their thoughts.


	17. Chapter 16: My eyes roll backward

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen:**

_My eyes roll backward  
My head fell forward_

(I'm a monster- Ours)

* * *

Maelle frowned as they moved through the tunnels, hugging the wall. She had traveled the tunnels many times before, but always on her own. She knew how to hide from the dangerous creatures that made these tunnels their home, but she had never had to take others through them. It was still the best plan, though, she reminded herself. Livius would be hunting them if they stayed above ground, even though he could only go so far, adding him to the other, main force and they would be in trouble. Especially if he had told Lord Eirikr who Sarah was. She sighed softly as she continued forward, creeping along as best she could while also keeping an eye on the two humans. Really, it was them she was worried about. She knew that if one of the creatures were to attack she would end up having to fight them entirely on her own. Geoff would stay back and protect Sarah in case anything got past her. If she fell, she knew without a doubt that they would too. The Tunnel system was the only part of the Labyrinth that he had not created. It had been there before him. She often wondered if he had built the Labyrinth to keep people out of the tunnels, as the Labyrinth often prevented any entrance into them or exit out of them.

They were only open now because of the invading armies. The Labyrinth was leading them into the tunnels as often as possible. It was a wonder it had let them in at all. She stopped, however, when she heard a sound. The sound she had been dreading. She looked over at the two humans and motioned for them to stay back as she moved forward. She had only a moment before one of the creature leapt at her. She growled as she through the strange creature off of her, it's six spindly legs landing perfectly. It made another odd guttural sound before it charged her, it's large maw gaping Maelle spun to the side, throwing her sword out at it as it past, cutting it's head clean off. As it's suddenly halted body fell, she looked at her companions once again and frowned.

"We need to hurry." She commanded. "That one was just a baby, it's mother will be here soon"

Sarah looked absolutely terrified but nodded and followed Geoff closely as the three of them starting running down the tunnels, all following the fae's lead. Sarah had almost dared to believe that they had lost the creatures when she heard the noise again. The low grunting noise that escalated to a roar. She gasped slightly at the sound and looked frantically at her friends. Geoff too was looking back, concerned and frightful, Mae simply looked annoyed at the development. She altnernated between looking ahead of them and glancing back. When the creatures finally seemed to be nearer, Mae stopped abruptly, coming to stand between the humans and the and Sarah also pulled out their swords. They knew the fae intended to fight the things on her own, but they weren't so sure. A group of the creatures approached, their six legs suprisingly agile despite carrying their large furless bodies. These five were considerable larger than the first one. While the first had barely stood at the fae's waist, these adult creatures towered above her.

A look of steel resolve on her face as she waited for one of the things to make their first move. It was one of the smaller ones in the group, it's almost human, almost dragon-like head stared at her intently before opening it's queer mouth, showing rows of sharp fangs, and roared. One of them on the right was the first to dash forward, heading right for her, she spun gracefully to the side once again, but her sword blow was halted when another came charging from her other side. She barely had time to get out of the way, but this one she managed to attack, leaving a large gash along it's side. It seemed unaffected by the wound and swung it's tail round, hitting her squarely in the chest. She bent forward for a moment, catching her breath, as the one behind her now moved to attack, merely charging forward to envelope it in it's mouth. She turned around, sword striking, and cut the inside of the creatures mouth, forcing it to recoil. Again, the one she had just placed behind her attacked while she was distracted, this time landing a solid bite on her leg. Maelle shrieked before twisting her body towards the ugly creature and hacking at it's neck. While she did not succeed in severing it's head, it released her and moved back, very obviously wounded.

The mother creature grunted and another of them stepped out, fangs bared and growling. Maelle grimaced, but stood ready as two of them; the new one and the one with a sliced mouth, charged her at once. She jumped as best she could, barely making it over their heads, and landed on the already injured creature. It turned it's head in an attempt to find her, but it was to no avail. She lifted her sword and begun to plunge it down when the other creature leapt towards her, subsequently attacking the one she was on as she once again leapt out of the way. The new addition to the fight dug it's fangs deep into it's comrade's neck, killing the creature. It pulled back when it realized that it had not gotten it's real target in the attack and growled, lowering it's head closer to the ground. The fae brandished her sword easily in front of her, preparing for the next attack, seemingly unhindered by her own wounds.

This one, it seemed, was foolish, as it charged directly at her, impaling itself on her sword as the blade moved through it's skull from inside of the mouth. The creature tried to recoil, but Mae refused to let go of her sword and turned it viciously, causing the creature to cry out in pain as it fell to it's side. Withdrawing her blade, she had little time to react before the last of them was commanded forward. This was seemed more intelligent, but was slower. It, however, was acting as a distraction, as the one whom she had gravely wounded had recovered it's bearings and was creeping up behind her, it's body low to the ground. Mae, this time, leapt at the creature in front of her, not noticing the one behind until she realized she had barely moved out of it's path. She had jumped low and, landing in front of the larger of the two, rolled beneath it, jabbing at it's belly as she was able. The creature grunted from the pain, trying to look back to find her as the other once again circled in low. The larger beast's tail lashed out in an attempt to strike her blindly, but she ducked and severed it near the base.

It was when she heard a scream that she realized that these too had been a distraction as well. She glanced over at where Geoff and Sarah were to see the mother creature towering over them, darting it's head at them both, not actually trying to attack them, and successfully avoiding their swords. Mae frowned and moved to go forward, when she was stopped by the original wounded creature. She swore as the creature sunk it's teeth into her abdomen, reaching back and continuing to hack at it's neck until it's head fell off. Growling, she pried herself out and was none to please to find that the now tail-less one had joined the playful attacking of the two humans. She took a painful breath in before she charged forward, her blade digging into the larger creature's back. It shrieked and turned to her, trying to snap and claw at her as she continued to stab it, but to no avial, it was soon too weak to make a fuss.

She stepped of the quickly dying creature and turned to the leader and the humans. Geoff had at some point been knocked unconscious, leaving Sarah there with her sword held feebly in her hand. The creatures front claw swiped at the sword, easily knocking it out of the human girl's hand before it moved forward, opening it's mouth to consume the girl. Mae had little time to react before the creature bent down. Moments before Sarah's body was encased in the rows of fangs, she noticed it. The girl's body had been literally pulsing. It was only a moment after the creature closed it's mouth on the girl, intent on devouring her whole, that, with it's eyes open wide, it screamed, opening it's mouth and spitting out the girl. She was surrounded by a purple fire. Fire that, Mae knew, was a gift of the fae's. The leader's mouth was smoking and burnt and the fae was sure that the woman would let it retreat, but, lifting a hand easily, a bolt of lightening erupted from her hand and hit the creature. It screamed once again in pain before falling over to it's side.

Maelle watched in slight awe at what happened, only to watch the girl, once having killed the creature, drained suddenly of her power and faint, falling onto the floor once again. The fae dashed forward, catching the girl and resting her head on her lap, waiting for her to wake up. She also cast a worried glance over at Geoff, who was seeming to come to with a groan. "Did you do this?" He asked, looking around at the scene around them, and, more specificlly, the corpse of the leader nearly burnt to a crisp. Mae shook her head, returning her focus to the girl in her lap. "She did."

* * *

**A/N**: I've decided I suck at fight scenes. Blah. I need to write more and get some practice in. Especially since I'm writing stories with more and more fighting in them... Hope you liked it, though. It's longer than the last few have been! And apparently 'leapt' is not a word. Oh well... REVIEWS ARE LOVED!


	18. Chapter 17: You Can Stop the Fall

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen:**

_just dont apply your mind  
and you can stop the fall_

(Stop the Fall - Absurd Minds)

* * *

Sarah found herself in Jareth's castle once again. Except this time was different. This time Jareth was no where to be found. Every other time she had found herself at the castle, she had arrived right near where Jareth was. Now she found herself no where near him. In fact, she was somewhere she had never been to before. It was hard to tell that it was even part of the castle, as it was not covered in goblins, in fact, it looked cleaner than Jareth's chambers had been. The only evidence that it was a part of the castle beyond the goblin city was the window. It showed the entire Labyrinth, and, she realized as she stepped forward and peered down, the goblin city as well. To her surprise, she found the sight of it all... beautiful. Leaning against the window sill she wondered why she had appeared in this room rather than any other. She didn't know, and even though she did wonder why such a thing had happened, simply looking at the Labyrinth distracted her. It didn't look like the Labyrinth she had been travelling. In fact, it barely looked like she Labyrinth she knew at all. It was beautiful. The labyrinth was entirely covered with what looked like blooms vines, trees were everywhere and it looked peaceful and full of life. She wondered why it looked like it did to her right then.

It was when she was getting lost in the sight of the greener Labyrinth that she heard a noise behind her, turning to look she saw a very peculiar sight. The door to the room opened and it started with a small child stepping through. Her heart was instantly tugged at the sight of the girl. Something about the girl seemed familiar. Her hair was brown, but her eyes were the most striking. One blue and one green. Like Jareth's. That's when it struck her who the child's parents were, and the fact was confirmed moments before they walked in, and only moments before the scene faded. Once again. She was in the same room, but there was no longer a child or parents. In fact, there was no furniture at all. She frowned at the dark feel of the room and instantly felt unnerved. She turned to the window and looked out of it and gasped, her hand going to her mouth. The Labyrinth, this time was in ruins. Half of it was utterly destoryed. Charred and even burning in some places. The entire kingdom looked dead.

She was startled once again when she heard a voice speak behind her, and she turned around once again and towards an exceptionally beautiful woman.

"Those are the only two choices for this Kingdom." The woman said, stepping closer towards Sarah, also leaning against the window sill and looking out. She, however, was focused on the woman rather than the scene outside. "It is a great burden, a great weight to lay on one woman, but I believe that you may be the only one who could handle such a feat." She spoke, looking back at her with a gentle expression, but also quite worried. The woman, like the child, had a familiar look to her, but she couldn't quite place her finger on why. She now chose to look back outside the window, this time seeing the Labyrinth as it currently was. It looked barren, but not dead. Some spots were green with vegetation while other spots were smoking slightly- mostly the edges where the attacks were often located. She frowned and looked back at the woman again.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked cautiously, a little unsure of herself.

"As you cursed the Labyrinth in denying it's king, you are also the only one who would be able to cure it." She told her, looking her straight in the eye. She begun to stutter a bit, trying to say that she hadn't meant to and that she had been a young girl hadn't known that he had actually cared for her, but the woman lifted her hand calmly to stop her from speaking. "You have no need to explain yourself. He chose to test you when you were too young, and you were not to know. He was exceptionally hopeful, too much so, truly, as it affected his logic. You should not feel pressured, as there is more than one way for you to cure the Labyrinth, but I will tell you this. You must follow your heart."

She nodded at the woman slowly, who smiled at her slowly and turned abruptly, heading towards the door. She opened the door and stepped out, leaving the human girl standing there on her own. Still having questions, she hurried towards the door, and quickly wrenched it open, only to find herself being pulled away from the scene, the world fading into white and she felt the hard ground beneath her. The white faded to black and she found herself once more in her body. Opening her eyes slowly, she found herself looking at the face of her friend, Maelle, concern on her face. She smiled slightly when she noticed that she had woken up. "You did good, Sarah. Do you remember what happened this time?" She asked her curious. She looked at the other woman slightly confused, her brow furrowed as she tried to remember even what the fae was talking about. This time, however, she did remember some.

"I remember one of those... things coming at me... And then stretching out my hand and something just... launching out towards them. After that I don't remember, though." She told the woman, who nodded.

"Can you stand?" The fae asked, her voice considerably friendlier than earlier. Sarah nodded and sat up, the action making her body feel heavy, but slowly she stood up and looked at her two companions. She nodded and smiled a little bit. "Yea, I... I think I'm good." She looked down at the floor and nodded once again.

"Then let's go." Maelle told the other girl with a frown and a determined look. They weren't where she had fainted, obviously having been carried some distance away from the body. Sarah nodded as the fae begun to move further down the halls.

* * *

**A/N**: I totally thought I had updated... *hides* Don't kill me~! As my pleading for forgiveness I will begin drawing pictures of all the characters for everyone to see! Geoff and Eirkir will be the hardest,


	19. Chapter 18: There isn't many memories

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jareth, Sarah, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or any other of the characters you'd notice from the movie or the 'Return to the Labyrinth' Manga (not many of them will be in here, though, if any.)

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen:**

_There isn't many memories  
I'm comfortable to keep_

(False Alarm by KT Tunstall)

* * *

Sarah continued to feel anxious as they moved through the tunnels. Her stomach churning unpleasantly, feeling all the while like she was going to vomit. She suspected it was the litter of corpses, excrement and other not so pleasant things they passed by. The tunnel was essentially a sewer more than a tunnel and it was not often cleaned. She suspected that here was where the 'cleaners' as she remembered them being called, were most often used. Not just to clean the tunnel, but to protect those who did. She shuddered a little as she passed another half-decayed corpse of a goblin. She didn't know how long they had been walking, without the sun it was hard to tell the hour, but she was getting tired. She had not yet told either of her companions about the dream. She had kept it to herself. No particular rhyme or reason to it, but she did. She felt that she had to. No one else could tell her what it had meant, she had to figure it out herself. With a sigh, she begun to fall a bit behind, her backpack and sword feeling heavy to her. Expressionless, the fae woman and the human man fell back to her pace. Geoff looked at her, concerned, before looking at Maelle.

"Think it's about time to stop?" He asked, more urging her to agree than simply asking. The fae woman frowned, carefully listening the the area around them for a moment before she nodded to herself.

"We are not even a half-day's march from the city." She begun, carefully watching the two human's for their responses. Both no where near close to being used to such endless marching as she was. Both looked tired, so she nodded once more, "But rest will speed the journey for the morrow. Let us find somewhere safe to make camp for the night."

Geoff and Sarah nodded and the three plodded on until they found a drier side tunnel, the only water in it a single dripping crack near the entrance. Satisfied with it, the fae woman left the two humans to set up their camp as she slinked off to scout the area. Nothing suspicious in their proximity, she returned to the camp as the two finished setting up, slightly surprised to see her own cot laid out for her. Knowing who it was, she sent a grateful smile towards Geoff and sat on it, her eyes drawn to her other companion. The human girl. She was already lying on her own cot, shivering under what was surely a cold blanket. She had obviously not been at full health since the last time she had blacked out, and the older woman feared that she would only get worse if they tarried in the tunnels much longer. She sighed, knowing her reasoning for caring was heartless, but since she had found out who the girl truly was, she had been unable to stop herself.

The girl who she once considered herself quite close to had not only lied to her, with no explanation having been proffered as of yet, but had been, no, was, the same girl that she despised. She knew it was unfair to treat the girl in such a way, but she believed it truly was her fault that her new-found home was dying away and the dark lord's armies were attacking. Never would such an attack even be heard of were he not in the condition she had caused. The Labyrinth, to a large degree, was dependent on the Goblin King. If he died, so too would his kingdom, and, if she were to be quite honest with herself, so too would she. A frown framed her face as she heard him approach, offering her some bread, knowing she had not eaten yet. Smiling sadly at the boy, she thanked him and made no objections when he took a place next to her on her cot.

For moments they merely sat in silence, eating their meal, but it was the boy who first spoke.

"You've still been avoiding Sarah, Mae..." He started, his tone neither accusatory nor angry, "She's convinced you hate her now."

The fae woman looked at him as he spoke, pondering his words before turning her attention to the sleeping girl as silence begun to stretch on again. Hate the girl? Surely she was not so foolish as to believe such a thing? No, more so she was hurt and not a little bit jealous. She herself had cared for the king when she left him in his state. He had first confided in her his... illness. The girl, foolish and young, had ruined him by her own stupidity and still he longed only for her. She shook her head, dispelling her thoughts as they begun to spread across her mind, and looked back at her other companion. For a moment, she said nothing to him, not quite sure what to tell him, but after a moment she chose to answer him.

"I am afraid that she will hurt him, Geoff." She started, her voice barely a whisper, a slight panic to it, "He was broken when she denied him last, and I am unconvinced that she will not do so again..."

She paused, the words hard for her to say, her voice showing her strain, "If she denies him again... I know he will die."

o0o

Livius sat back in his large comfortable chair, his hand entwined as he thought. He wanted her, it was the only reason he had even chosen a side for the war that Lord Eirkr had started with Jareth. His last ploy to steal her away had failed, his captive and perceivably weak bargaining tool had been more than he had believed her to be. She had killed the entire building of his servants and escaped without so much as a scrath to show for it. He didn't even know how, and it bothered him, but instead of searching for answers to what he believed little more than an inconivence, he was thinking of a new way to steal back his toy. A scowl made it's way to his face as he remembered when he had lost her. To the Goblin King, nonetheless. He doubted the king had done what he had to her, but he cared little. No one took what was his and got away with it.

* * *

**A/N**: *headdesk* I feel horrible for not updating! But, really, I feel more horrible because this story was more started so that I could finish it than for anyone to read. I have a problem with not finishing stories, and I ran into a bit of a block on this one. I believe I've mostl worked through it, so the updates should be more regular again. I'm not making any promises, though, as, to be quite honest, this is the farthest I've gone with a multi-chapter story. Period. So some chapters may be short, some may be longer, but I'm trying to keep them between 1,000 and 3,000 words. I'm also debating doing some chapters in first person. Any opinions?


	20. Chapter 19: Do you remember me

**Nothing, Nothing tra la la?**

By Adrienne Valentine

Summary: The Labyrinth is engaged in war, the King is weak and there are few willing to ally with him. While his Labyrinth provides sufficient defenses, it can only do so for so long and the the King knows it, waiting for the only one who can assure victory- the only one who had defeated his Labyrinth.

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Rating: T to be safe.

Disclaimer: I do only Maelle, Livius, Geoff and Erikr. Oh, and Ghillie of course. :)

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen:**

_Do you remember me  
Lost for so long  
Will you be on the other side  
Or will you forget me?_

(Tourniquet by Evanescence)

* * *

The next 'morning' is when things changed. Maelle was the first to wake, as if startled from a dream, she sat up suddenly and frowned. Sarah wasn't there. Her things were packed and gone, and so was she. The moment the fae noticed it she sprung into action, first searching the area near her to see if someone had perhaps kidnapped her, but no, there was only one set of foot prints, and they were definitely Sarah's size. She had no idea when the girl had left or even where she had gone to. Maelle barely even knew her way around, and she had traveled the tunnels more than anyone else. She cursed and turned her attention to her remaining companion, who was still asleep. Hurrying over to him and shaking him awake, she waited until he became aware of what was going on and she knew he would remember her words.

"We must find Sarah before she gets herself into trouble." She said evenly, hiding her worry.

Geoff instantly lost all traces of sleep as he sat up abruptly, and jumping out of bed, quickly pulling together his things. She nodded as his actions and did the same, not bothering with cleanliness as she stuffed everything into her pack. Turning to Geoff, who she noted was strapping on his sword, she nodded and turned her attention back to the ground, wondering how the girl had moved without waking her while studying the footprints, slightly bent over as she followed them, saying not a word to Geoff, who merely followed in silence. Whatever reason she had left them in the middle of the night worried the fae. She once again blamed herself as fear and worry started to swell. She had been too harsh on her. The girl had probably believed that she hated her, which was not the case. She was just upset. Cursing silently to herself, she made sure not to miss a single print as she walked, moving as quickly as she could.

o0o

Jareth sensed something was wrong that morning. Sarah had visited him, briefly, before she seemed to pull herself away from him, looking slightly saddened. He had tried to scry her location since, but his attempts all failed. Nothing would show on his crystal- not even darkness. There was simply nothing, as if she was blocking his attempts consciously, as if she was trying to hide from him. He was worried and pacing his room anxiously, he had scried Elle and her human companion- hoping to catch a glimpse of Sarah, but become even more concerned when he found that she had gone off on her own. She had, apparently, snuck off in the middle of the night, without waking either of them, and left. Simply left. No one knew where she had gone to or why, and the fact that she had left while in the tunnels... He cursed loudly, wishing he had cleared those tunnels ages ago simply so now Sarah would no longer be in danger.

Broken crystals- thrown in frustration- littered the room, but her took no note of any of them, took note of nothing beyond his own thoughts. His magic was weak and therefore unable to properly control his domain as he had before, and with the idea that Sarah might be in grave danger- might even already have been injured, or worse- disturbed him. Making a decision, he stalked to his wardrobe, he tore open the doors and quickly grabbed what he needed- donning it as he did so. His 'armor', cloak, and sword- something he had not used in some time. After making sure his sword belt was secured, he moved to his door, opening it with a determination that left the little dog- who had come to check on the King, confused and dazed for a moment. The goblins he passed looked worried when they saw their king stalk past them, armed. Few actually knew of what plagued the king, and even fewer knew why, so the sight was a peculiar one for the goblins, and he quickly amassed a small entourage as the creatures began to follow him curiously.

He descended the stairs from his room to the lower-basement levels, unaffected by the troupe of goblins following him. As he approached the door the crowd behind him begun to whisper about themselves nervously. They knew what lie behind the door, the dangers that one would face. It was never opened for that reason. But as he stood in front of the door, producing it's only key, the chatter silenced instantly, the normally silly creature's holding their breath, fearing what lay beyond the door. For them, there was only death, as goblins were notoriously inept fighters, and they feared the same fate would await their King. As the Goblin King opened the door to the tunnels the goblins scurried away and scattered in fear.

o0o

Sarah panted as she trudged through the unlit tunnels blindly. Her torch had gone out more than an hour ago and she now having to rely on her other senses, and, more importantly, her intuition. She still didn't know what had possessed her to sneak off and leave her companions without as much as a note, but whatever it was still possessed her as she continued. She had worried, at first, that she would run into a dead-end, a wall, or, even more horribly, one of the creatures that dwelt there, but as time grew, so too did her confidence. She had run into no dead-ends, no monsters- and especially since her torch had burned out- no walls. She wasn't even walking with her hand to one of them. She didn't know where she was headed, or why it was so important that she go there by herself, but she did.

She had been walking for what she guessed was the better part of the day when she first received sign that she was nearing her destination. There was a dim light in her vision, and as she approached it, she took note of it's shape and realized what it was- a door. Quickening her pace excitedly she all but ran towards it, entering the open door without hesitation. What she found on the other side, however, was not what she was expecting.

* * *

**A/N**: This one's a bit jumpy, I apologize. I left it on a cliff hanger on purpose, though. Maybe you can guess, maybe you can't. I don't know. hehe.


	21. AUTHOR'S NOTE! Apologies

Dear Readers of **Nothing, Nothing, Tra la la?** (By me, Adrienne Valentine!) I continue to see people reviewing, favouriting and adding this story to their alerts and I wanted to let you all know that I will be continuing this again!

For those who are wondering what took me so long and why I never updated the last chapter, I'll tell you a little secret. I don't write my stories in notepad and upload them onto her like we are supposed to. I upload a (nearly) blank document, delete everything in it and write my story in there, copying only for beta-reading (when applicable, because I also will confess I don't do too much editing), so about last year I had put off on working on the story because of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), but I had written the chapter eventually, and saved it. I wasn't entirely happy with it, so I re-wrote it a few times and then one day, I log onto my account and all of my uploaded stories had been deleted.

Including the last chapter and all 35,000 words of my NaNoWriMo Book. I was so upset by it, I didn't want to write anymore for a long time. But now I've decided to quit my whining and finish this story.

SO! Expect updates on this story soon, there are only two more chapter before the planned 'intermission' (PART II is seperate and I will be taking that time to re-write part I to make it better.)

I apologize profusely to those who like this story for taking so long to get off my lazy bum and get to it! :) Hope you don't hate me too badly.


	22. Announcement

Hey Everyone!

Ms. Valentine here! I've been so busy since I started freelancing I haven't been able to update! Between work and NaNoWriMo, I've abandoned my stories!

As it stands, I will be reviving them. Starting in January, I will be uploading something at least once a week. I'm spending the rest of December getting them all straightened out and ready.

'Nothing, Tra la la' has been on hold for the longest because I have been rewriting it constantly. I will be replacing each chapter before uploading the new ones. The storyline is still very much the same, but I'm editing it for, well, better flow and more detail. Enjoy!


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